margi

My husband and I are SERVAS hosts in Australia and we've had many overseas travellers stay with us. We have two Austrian girls staying with us at the moment, they're just 3 weeks into a 6 month tour of Aust and NZ. Last night we had a bbq for them and invited a French couple to join us who are staying with another SERVAS host.The French couple have lived on the island of Reunion for the past 3 years. We've met some great people from many countries and have made many friends. Next year I am planning a 3 month trip to the UK and Europe and I will be contacting SERVAS people en route to see if it is convenient to stay with them for a couple of nights. I have two questions. Firstly, I have never seen SERVAS mentioned on this board and I am wondering if there are any hosts or members who post here. Secondly, I also wonder if there are any other Australians who post as most of you seem to be from the USA.

KT

Hi, Margi --<BR><BR>Maybe I'll meet you some day, since I'm hoping to take a Servas trip to Australia within the next few years. I've been a Servas traveller on and off since 1990 and was also a host for eight years. I'm a huge fan of Servas. I, too, have met some really wonderful people from all over the world (as well as some freeloaders who almost spoiled the hosting experience for me). In fact, one of my hosts in Belgium from 1992 is still a very close friend, and we try to meet up at least once a year -- this year it will be in Rome at Christmas.<BR><BR>For those of you unfamiliar with Servas, it's an organization dedicated to promoting peace and international understanding through person-to-person contacts. Hosts and travelers both go through an interview process, then approved travellers get host lists for the countries they'll be visiting and contact individual hosts to request two-night home stays (hosts can invite travellers for longer, but travellers should not ask for longer). Travellers are expected to be sincerely interested in getting to know hosts and their lifestyles -- it's NOT a way of getting a free bed.<BR><BR>I guess I haven't mentioned this on this board because I think of it as somewhat different from the usual sightseeing-type travel experience. I've known people who tried Servas and were ill-suited to it because they basically just wanted to have a place to stay while they breezed in and out at will to sightsee. In fact, I've purposely not used Servas in places where I knew I wanted to be very busy on my own. Instead, Servas has given me opportunities I would not otherwise have had, like spending a day in a Danish school or walking in the Welsh dunes with a botanist.