I’ve been trying to increase my audience lately.  As I explain in the about me page, I have started to write a newsletter for the group of exchange educators (CLEE).  I am part of the Ottawa chapter, but I still keep in touch with the International Teaching Fellows in Australia through their newsletter.  So I will be adding a link to as many newsletters from Australian states as I can.  If you have an interest in teaching abroad, especially on exchange, or maybe exchanging homes for a while, you might check out the stories.  The new page called On Exchange is accessible at the top right of my blog.

Exchanging homes is another pursuit I will be looking into in coming years.  I tried it a few years ago for an affordable vacation in Alberta, and it turned out quite well.  We ended up exchanging on different years, so I actually met the family that used my house as I went to use theirs and they were still in it for a while longer.  In the end, I enjoyed chatting with that family so much that I spent quite a bit of time doing just that on my vacation.  We are still in touch years later.

A few people I know have tried house exchanges with favourable results.  You need to plan well ahead and I am sure you have to set very careful parameters if you don’t want to come home to a nasty surprise, but think of it, they are using your house while you are using theirs.  Everyone wants a positive experience.  Still, I recognize it’s not for everyone.

You may have heard about this great contest called “biggest, baddest bucket list” where people compete to become paid travelers for 6 months.  I’ve been reading a blog lately and the author, Lesley Carter (a nice Canadian girl) is trying to win the grand prize of 6 months, 6 continents and $50,000 to feed her travel addiction.  If you are inclined, vote for Lesley by clicking on the badge below. I would enter the contest myself, but once you read the applications, you’ll realize I don’t have that kind of energy.

Vote for me