Module 1 | WORKSHEET 2 warm up CouchSurfing and home exchanges 1 Tick the true sentences. FAQ n You do not leave COUCHSURFING HOME EXCHANGE your home to couch surf. CouchSurfing is an American Home exchange is a mutual n You need a A expression for students staying exchange of homes, usually at the home to home on the sofas, or couches of other same time, for an agreed period students, who they do not really in the same country or abroad. exchange. know. Today it is an international It enables you to step into other n You can couch social networking site with over people’s lives free of charge, surf or home 3 million people in over 230 making it a very economical way exchange at countries, exchanging hospitality to . or joining in activities together. home or abroad. You do not have You can register free of charge All you need to start is a home to n B to pay anything and provide as much or as little exchange, large or small; it can information about yourself as be in a city or in the countryside. for either service. you choose. When you find like- Then you register on one of the n You can leave minded people, you agree on many home exchange websites your pets with what you want to do together, (most have a small fee) and set your home where and when. It can be as up a profile with a description and simple as going to a party, or pictures of your home. exchange visiting somebody on the other partners. side of the world. It is an economical way to meet You can experience a different C new people, learn about other culture first-hand and meet local cultures and places and try people, without exchanging any new activities, not as a tourist, money. You can also feel safe that but as a local. You also have your house is not empty and that the opportunity to share your somebody is looking after your experiences, interests and plants and even your pet. knowledge with others. There are a number of security As with all transactions over the D checks, which the site offers, but , there are risks. You are you are essentially trusting what allowing a stranger to live in your another person chooses to share home, use your things; while at the with and you might just not have same time you are hoping to find the experience you are expecting. what they write about their home As with all social networking sites is true, so that you do not have a you need to be careful. bad holiday.

www..org www.homeexchange.com M ore about... Fenton, one of the co-founder of CouchSurfing, first thought of building a social travel network after a trip to Iceland in 1999. Hoping to meet locals during his trip, he emailed students for afree place to stay. He received so many offersof hospitality that he realised there was a community out there hungry for a human-centred approach to travel.

reading comprehension 2 Read the two FAQs about CouchSurfing and home exchanges and match the following questions with the answers. 1 How does it work? ___B 3 What are its disadvantages? ___ Activities 2 What are its advantages? ___ 4 What is it? ___

listening 3 1 Listen and order the instructions of how to couch surf. a n be flexible e n follow up b n communicate clearly f n learn to read a profile c n couch surf g n start connecting d n create your profile h n start couch searching

Module 1 - Worksheet 2 Excellent! © ELI