Happy New Year

We wish you a very happy New Year
Nous vous souhaitons une très heureuse Nouvelle Année
Wir wünschen Ihnen ein sehr glückliches Neues Jahr
Wij wensen U un heel gelukkig Nieuwjaar
Felices Fiestas

Safe from Tsunami

We were pleased to hear yesterday from Bali, Indonesia, that GTI Home Exchange member Paul Smethurst and his family are safe. It would appear that Bali itself has escaped the worst of the Tsunami and is relatively unscathed, but needless to say our hearts go out to all those others whose lives have been so devastated.

Global Warming - The Big Debate

Though the Tsunami in Southern Asia cannot be attributed to global warming, in the wake of the massive loss of life and terrible destruction of people's homes and the infrastructure of so many countries, it perhaps seems appropriate to look again at this issue.

Rosie Carr writes in the Easyjet In-flight magazine December 2004

Should Europe care about global warming?
YES says Rosie Carr. In the coming century, global warming is predicted to lead to catastrophic climate change across the planet. The cause, according to most scientists, is toxic emissions from industrialised societies, and the only way to prevent disaster is to reduce those emissions. Should the EU be doing something about it while the US and Australia don't seem to be bothered? Clearly, the answer is yes, even if Europe alone can only scratch the surface of the problem.


To read the rest of Rosie's article go to:

Sustainable Tourism

As our name implies, we, at Green Theme International Home Exchange Holidays, have always been concerned about the impact of tourism on the environment and I was delighted to find the following succint list of points on how we can collectively have a big impact on the limitation of damage sometimes caused by tourism, if we all think about making a small difference when we travel.

Sustainable tourism:

is about making a difference when you travel. When you travel, try to make sure that the impact you have on local communities and the environment is positive and sustainable.

is about enjoying yourself and taking responsibility for your actions to make sure that the social, environmental and economic impacts of overseas travel are positive ones;

provides fair economic returns to local communities and minimises negative impacts on: local cultures; the environment; natural resources; and on wildlife habitats and species;

recognises that in many destinations resources such as water, firewood and fuel are precious and that local people may not have enough for their own needs if visitors do not use these resources in a sustainable way and with regard for local needs;

does not include trade in endangered species, indigenous resources and ancient artefacts that can threaten natural and cultural heritage;

recognises and mitigates the impact of travel on global warming.

"Know before you Go" Campaign

The United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office web-site is the definitive place of reference for those seeking information before travelling abroad, and we are sure that anyone planning to travel abroad, whether from the UK or elsewhere, will find helpful advice here.

Know Before You Go is an awareness campaign aimed at encouraging British travellers to prepare better before going overseas. Use this area of the website to help plan your trip overseas.

NEW! Short Breaks

Check out our top tips for planning a short break holiday overseas. This
is the lastest targeted mini-campaign as part of "Know Before You Go".

A First Experience of Home Exchange

Bonjour Kath,
As promised a small article about our first home-exchange in Australia.

HOME-EXCHANGE Just do it!!
About 18 months ago, I read an article about home-exchanges and decided to have a look on Internet.

We are a retired couple, live 45 km north of Paris. I am half English, half Dutch and my husband is French. My motivation was to revisit Australia; I have a brother and family there. In the beginning my husband was somewhat hesitant. We enrolled and thought "wait & see".

In our member's file we filled in: "Open to Offers". Over a short time we received quite some offers from the USA, CANADA and the UK. So we changed and selected AUSTRALIA. Soon after, two or three swappers sent us offers; one in particular interested us, so I started to converse and get more information. They were a retired couple from the Sunshine-Coast; this couple: Rex & Nancy had already performed 5 successful home-exchanges. After having e-mailed for quite a while together, we came to an agreement for a home and car-exchange for October 2004. Rex & Nancy had arranged a double home-exchange this time:
1) September in Brittany,
2) October in Othis/Paris area.

They were due to arrive in France 28 August, for their Brittany home-exchange. As we don't live far from the Airport, we invited them to come and stay with us for 2 days. A unique chance, to meet each other and show them around. We instantly got on well together. We introduced them to our sons and families and also our neighbours. They didn't speak very much French, but were good in communication. On the 3rd day, they left for Nantes, we drove them to Gare Montparnasse, and kept in contact via e-mails.

Four weeks later, we left for Australia. My brother met us at Brisbane Airport, and drove us to our destination, a lovely comfortable home situated in a beautiful area not far from Mooloolaba, a well-known town on the Sunshine-Coast. We were able to live at our own pace, cooked the food we liked and discover Australia as "Aussis". Again we kept a regular contact with our home-swappers by computer and told each other about our different outings and excursions. Our stay was a 100% success, both in human and cultural ways.

Today we consider, through this successful home-exchange, we gained two new friends. We intend to try again somewhere else.

Louise COLETTE
www.chez.com/aquabears
HE13942
Travel