FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT JOURNEYS:

 

What is a ‘host’?

• welcomes visiting club members into their homes and provides accommodation and some meals  for up to one week

• participates in activities that reflect their community life and culture

• participates in sightseeing, shopping, visiting local attractions and other group social activities and meals  

 

What is an ‘ambassador’?

• a guest in the home of a host sharing everyday life experiences and activities

 

What is an ‘inbound’ and ‘outbound’ journey?

•  ‘inbound’ journey is when we welcome other Friendship Force members from around the world into our homes and community as our guests

• "outbound’ journey is when we travel outside our city or country and are hosted by Friendship Force members in other areas of the world

 

What is a ‘homestay’?

• you are hosted as a guest in the home of another Friendship Force member

• you share their life for a week and most likely their friendship for a lifetime

• as ‘ambassador’,  you offer to take your hosts to a restaurant dinner or alternately, you can cook a Canadian dinner for them 

• you present them with a small gift, usually something that reflects your city/country

 

What are the travel costs?

• on an outbound journey we pay our own transportation costs to the destination 

• a journey fee for FFI of $25 for each night with your host club

• a fee set by the host club to cover the cost of the program of activities they have put together which includes admissions, some meals, tickets, local transportation, etc.

 

Not a traveler?

• you don’t ever have to travel if you don’t want 

• you can still participate by hosting guests in your home, day hosting or joining in the planned activities during an Incoming journey  

• you can join committees to manage the operation of your club including the preparation of a program for an incoming club

• you can participate in any activities held outside your work hours

 

I work all day, how can I participate in an inbound journey?  

• you could provide accommodation on a ‘bed and breakfast’ basis and let another club member assist you by looking after your guest during the day (‘day hosting’)

• you could contribute by being a dinner host one evening inviting a home host and their ambassadors to your home

• you could provide some food or assistance for an activity being held outside your work hours

 

How are journeys organized?

• clubs let FFI know how many weeks of home hosting they are willing to provide 

• FFI assigns a club to you, based on who wants to visit your area 

• clubs can request reciprocal exchanges, which means you ask that a club you visited be scheduled to visit you.  They must also then request your club

• clubs let FFI know their preferred countries to visit, knowing they may not get their first or even their second choice

• FFI takes all these requests and puts together the list of journeys for the coming year

• clubs are informed of their matches. If they have been given a journey which was not on their preferred list, they have the option to decline, but may not get another journey assigned

• a host coordinator and an ambassador coordinator are assigned by the respective clubs; they start communicating to determine dates for travel and the number of ambassadors the host club can accommodate

• host club forms a committee that plans the sightseeing, outings and entertainment for the week.

• the host committee assigns a member to gather information on the ambassadors, find home hosts and match them with regard to age, interests, etc.  Occasionally, some may know each other from a previous journey and request their "friend"

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Journeys are most enjoyable and successful when both clubs work effectively together