At Kevin's first mention of "host," I thought I should explain. Until he arrives at the farm, he is "couchsurfing" his way around France. Couchsurfing???
"We envision a world made better by travel and travel made richer by connection. Couchsurfers share their lives with the people they encounter, fostering cultural exchange and mutual respect." (www.couchsurfing.com) People offer their spare room, couch or air mattress to "friends they haven't yet met," and travellers look through host profiles and references to find people they may want to stay with. Both travellers and hosts rate one another, raising the confidence level on both sides.
Son David tried this in South America this winter, when he traveled through Suriname, French Guiana and Brazil, and he had a great experience. Kevin, who never met a stranger, thought this would be a fine (and cheap) way to enrich his French experience. (Hostels were his backup plan in case the hosting didn't work out.) Before he left, Kevin had his hosts lined up for Paris, Marseilles and Bordeaux and learned a little bit about them through their profiles. A compact sleeping bag and some host gifts, and he was ready!
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