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September 8, 2009
There’s No Place Like Home
If you’ve joined us before on an OAT adventure, chances are you’ve participated in one of our home-hosted events. Maybe you’ve trekked on camelback through mustard fields in northern India to spend time with residents of a local village … joined the owners of a horse ranch in Patagonia for a traditional barbecue dinner … or slept on futon-like floor mats during an overnight stay in a family’s home in rural Turkey.
To me, personal encounters like these—and the connections they allow us to make with the people we meet—are what travel is all about. And that’s why home visits are included on almost every OAT itinerary. After all, opening your home to strangers can be seen as an extraordinary leap of faith. But it’s one that can prove infinitely rewarding, as the parties involved realize they have far more in common than they ever dreamed possible.
But you don’t have to take my word for it: You can ask Larry Kavanaugh, a 9-time traveler from Rocklin, California. Larry recently sent me a story about his home-hosted experiences with us, and I was so touched by what he’d written that I just had to share it with all of you. After reading his story, I’m sure you’ll agree that home is truly where the heart is.
Harriet Lewis