'Visitor and Host' participants are willing to provide accommodation for X-CHANGE members and would also like to stay with their X-CHANGE partner when they travel.

'Day-host' participants are willing to meet X-CHANGE members for some day programme, but would not provide accommodation for their X-CHANGE partner.

'Penpal' participants mainly use the database to exchange e-mails with other participants.

Let's say you want to visit France in the summer. First, you fill in an application form here on our site, and you receive an e-mail with your membership password. The password allows you to access the X-CHANGE database. You browse through the information on fellow members from France, looking for someone who wants to visit your country, shares common interests and perhaps lives in an area you would like to visit. Having identified a prospective partner or two, you e-mail them. After a series of correspondences, you set up your exchange visits, and off to France you go! While you are responsible for your own travel costs and incidental expenses, you do not have to pay for accommodation as you will be staying with your X-CHANGE partner. And since you save money on accommodation you can already start planning your next trip with X-CHANGE anywhere in the world! It's as simple as that.

Well, you can check the database for Day-hosts whom you can meet for a coffee and who can give you ideas on what to visit or where to go in the given country. Set up your meeting via e-mail and find out how much meeting a local student can contribute to your travel experiences!

Anna's entry is only an illustration of data that appears on the X-CHANGE database, therefore please do NOT try to contact her.

Anna Szabados

Budapest, Hungary

24, female, visitor and host, no direct homeswap.

I would like to exchange visits with X-CHANGE members from Britain, US, Romania, China and anywhere else.
Interests:
Psychology, climbing, NGO movements.
Languages:
Advanced English and beginner Russian.
My personal web site can be found at
http://btk.elte.hu/~seas/zsuzs.html
I study English at ELTE, Budapest (1144 Ajtosi Durer sor 19-21). Tel: (36 1) 343 0148 I am an undergraduate student.
Special fields of study/academic interests:
methodology in teaching English as a foreign language.
My department's WWW site is at
http://www.btk.elte.hu/~seas

Hosting:

I can provide a separate room for maximum 2 X-CHANGE members at the same time anytime for about 4 weeks. I will be hosting my partner in a flat.

Description of accommodation, expectations and local attractions:

I live on the Buda side of Budapest. Our flat is close to the hills as well as to the centre. I live with my boyfriend and we can offer a separate room to X-CHANGE partners. I am a smoker, but we prefer having non-smoking guests as smoking is not allowed in the flat. Budapest is a great city both in terms of cultural entertainment and also in terms of out-of-city activities, such as hiking and walking in the hills. The Opera House is world famous and is still quite cheap to visit, and there are great jazz clubs to spend your evenings in. In the summer the outdoor pools are fantastic, and I personally love open air theatres, which we have quite a few of. The countryside is easy to get to and we can offer walking maps and ideas for great hiking destinations. I think Budapest is really worth visiting, so why don't you come and stay with us!

Visiting:

I would like to travel with my partner in the summer for about 3 weeks. The X-CHANGE accommodation I am looking for is a separate room.

Additional information:

I applied for the programme as a 'Visitor and Host' but I would, of course, love to day-host members as well. I also studied Chinese and I would love to find students who'd be interested in corresponding in Chinese and about Chinese literature.

Contact:

My e-mail address is: anna.szabados@isis.elte.hu

Referee:

Name: Emma Szabo
Head of Student Union
E-mail address: emma.szabo@isis.elte.hu

(Please note that e-mail addresses appear in the database, but home addresses and phone numbers do not, to prevent any unsolicited visits).

Remember the three criteria for joining X-CHANGE?

- an e-mail address of your own
- at least an intermediate knowledge of English
- higher-education student status, or enrolment in an International House World Organisation member school