The Great International City Swap

UPDATE: Check out what everyone received in the comments section of this post!

One of the things that I have enjoyed most about my new adventure in blogging has been seeing people stop by literally from all corners of the globe. I love that just by creating a blog, you become part of an international community.

So folks, in honor of my almost 2-month blogger anniversary (I’m still a newborn!) I cordially invite each and every one of you to participate in the first-ever At Home in Rome swap, proudly entitled:

You can take the logo above for your blog’s sidebar if you want to get the word out (I'll paste the code I used at the end of this post, and hopefully you can just cut and paste), or just link back to this post. The more, the merrier, and I hope this helps us all to meet new bloggers, so pass it on!

You get to see my perspective on what makes Rome unique, so now there’s a swap for you to share why the place where you live is unique, too. No matter how obscure your town might be, every place has something that makes it special. Ok, ok, even if you hate where you live (I can name a few places I’ve lived that qualify), maybe this swap could show you something you’ve been overlooking… or taken in a humorous vein, convince your swap buddy why they should NEVER move to your town! One time a friend of mine visited Nashville and I told her to bring me the most ridiculous country souvenirs she could find. I ended up with a pack of Hank Williams, Jr. playing cards (yes, there was a different image of Mr. Williams, Jr. on each and every card), a fingernail clipper with a guitar on it, and a “Dixie dictionary.” When presented with a challenge, you just never know what you’ll end up with, so here’s the challenge:

What: Swap something(s) that, in your opinion, best represent the place where you live, and what you think makes it unique. It can be anything from handmade to store-bought, mugs to magnets, framed photos to local food items and handicrafts to postcards and local candy…just use your creativity!

How: To join the swap, send an email to ahirswap AT gmail DOT com with your mailing address (and your blog url if you want it posted with the other participants). Also indicate if you do not wish your city to be listed. Your address will be kept strictly private and sent ONLY to your swap buddy.

When: The deadline to join in the swap is November 15. This gives us roughly a month to get our swap group together. Shortly after the deadline, I’ll send you your swap buddy’s mailing address. Then you can start your mission to create their package. Your package should be mailed using your country’s equivalent of priority or first class mail on or before December 1. I’ll send a little reminder when the time gets close.

How much: Min. $10 to max $20 USD, or your local currency equivalent (see www.xe.com for a currency converter). These figures do not include postage costs for your country’s equivalent of priority or first class mail.

Then, sit back and wait for your package to arrive from your swap buddy! When you receive your package, why not post pictures of it on your blog?

I’ll post a list of all the participants (and links to those with blogs) when the sign-up ends.

Disclaimer: Unless it ends up being only me and one or two friends/bloggy buddies, in which case I would just be too sad to post, being so thoroughly humiliated in my first swap attempt. —Why, no—did that sound like I was trying to guilt trip you into joining? I really hope not. Because, you know, I would never dream of doing such a thing!

Hope to have you on board!

(Here's the code I used to insert the swap logo into my sidebar, in the Blogger template:)

<h2 class="sidebar-title">City Swap - Sign Up By Nov. 15!</h2><ul>
<a href="http://athomerome.blogspot.com/2006/10/great-international-
city-swap.html">
<img src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/57/3665/200/swaplogo.gif"
alt="Great International City Swap" border="0"> </a>
</ul>

Update: And, we're off! Here's the final list of participants and their cities. A great and diverse group of people from all over. Why not stop by their blogs and see what they're up to?

• African Kelli


• Angie


• Assignment Alaska


• Dorothy


• Ebony & Ivory


• Empty Elizabeth


• Finny Knits


• How Apropos


• Kathleen


• La Dolce Vita


• Linda


• Lost in Place


• Mad Cronicles


• Maryann


• Mingaling


• Nicole


• Quasi Italiana!


• Rachael


• Sarcomical


• Somewhat Refined


• Texas Espresso


• Toni


• Triple Creme


• Writing Aspirations

And Their Cities Are:

• Atlanta, Georgia


• Astoria, New York


• Cottage Grove, Minnesota


• Eagle River, Alaska


• Eielson AFB, Alaska


• Fargo, North Dakota


• Fishers, Indiana


• Hanover, Indiana


• Indianapolis, Indiana


• Jordan, New York


• Los Angeles, California


• Palmer, Alaska


• Portage, Michigan


• Port Orchard, Washington


• Rome, Italy


• Rowlett, Texas


• San Jose, California


• Sydney, Australia


• Tempe, Arizona


• Torino, Italy


• Washington, D.C.


• Winchester, Virginia


• Ypsilanti, Michigan