Welcoming family is waiting for helpers in Tuscany near Florence, Italy

Details

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  Description

  We are a family of 4, plus an adorable cat, living in the pleasant village of Borgo San Lorenzo, a 40 minutes train trip to Florence. We live in a three story apartment, part of an old ex-farming house placed int the country but very close to the village centre. We have a small garden in front of the house and a vegetable garden close by. Lucrezia (born 1972) is a teacher, Stefano (born 1971) is a hotel manager in Florence, while Damiano (born in 2007) and Matilde (born in 2008) are students. We are passionate for foreign cultures and the English language. We are looking forward to meeting someone who can share with us experiences, language, culture and some good time sipping a nice glass of italian wine.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Language practice

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  Help with Computers/ Internet
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We will be eager to make some Italian conversation if requested (Stefano has also been teaching Italian as a second language to adult foreigners in the past) and introduce our guests to our healthy but also tasty Italian way of cooking. In the summer we use fresh vegetable products from our own organic vegetable garden.
  Florence and iconic Tuscan villages are in short range. It takes a 10 minutes bike-ride to go to the railway station and reach Florence centre in 40 minutes where there is also plentiful of Italian language schools.
  Borgo San Lorenzo itself offers several sports opportunities and a surprising library with thousands of books and DVD's. Opportunities to meet with local youth are available at sports centers and village's pubs and bars.
  As to family life it will be our pleasure to spend time together. We consider ourselves as progressive, curious and open minded individuals and pride ourselves of having brought up relatively well behaved but lively children. Want to have some more info about us? We love to exchange homes for a holiday and our guests and hosts have always highly appreciated exchanges with us.

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  Projects involving children

  This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.

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  Help

  Us parents speak a good english, having both spent some time in the UK and USA. Our children study english at school and are used to watch movies in english but there is no better way to improve english than to speak it everyday. So, we’re looking for somebody who speaks a good English and who will spend some time with us, especially with our children.
  Since Damiano, who is now 16 years old, is very interested in computer science but his school doesn’t provide this kind of teaching, we’re especially looking for someone who teaches him some computer programming.
  Lucrezia and Stefano both work; during school-time (mid September - early June) Damiano and Matilde, now teenagers, attend school in the morning and do their homework in the afternoon. Therefore, during the week the time they can spend with our guest will be mostly in the evenings.
  Our family life has some rules: if at home, meals are spent together and the use of cell phones and similar devices is not allowed while being together. We have no television but a nice LCD projector, DVDs ecc... We also have a nice collection of books in several languages.

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  Languages spoken

  German: Fluent
  English: Fluent
  Italian: Fluent
  Spanish: Intermediate

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  Accommodation

  The house is on three levels and has an independent entrance with a garden in front. If with a car, parking space is also available just in front. The house is about 90 square mt, has a welcoming kitchen joined with sitting area at level 1; at level 2 there are parent's and Damiano’s bedrooms and 1 full option bathroom; at level 3 Matilde’s bedroom, a full option bathroom and our guest's room. This one is a medium size room with a queen-size sofa bed, a desk and the LCD projector. Free WI-fi throughout the house. Free phone calls to Europe and US (Area 1). A bike will be provided for free use.

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  What else ...

  In Borgo San Lorenzo: public swimming pool, 2 gyms, 15 km biking/walking/jogging path along the river (runs at 500 mt from our home), well assorted books and media library, plentiful of dining options and sociable bars for aperitivo
  Distance to Railway Station: bike 10 minutes (we can provide one), 30 minutes on foot
  Florence: train 40 minutes; bus 55 minutes. Last train Florence to Borgo San Lorenzo: 20:55. Last bus: 22:40
  Full equipped nearest hospital: 2km from our home.
  
  From Florence railway station: Pisa 50 min; Siena 50 min, Lucca 60 min, Rome 90 min, Venice: 2 hrs, Milan 2hrs, Bologna 35 min. Viareggio (Tirrenean Sea), 60 min.
  In Florence downtown it is also very easy to rent a car and drive to the Chianti area in 30 minutes or the famous The Mall outlet also in 30.
  From and in Florence: innumerable options to join guided tours to all the town's sightseeings and day trips to Tuscany and Cinque Terre.

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  One

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  Hours expected

  Maximum 3 hours a day, 5 days a week

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