A better-than-expected swap home and jet-lag from flying across the US with small children in tow, our first home exchange vacation days were spent relaxing. We gazed out to the surging Pacific Ocean from the living room while our children played with the toys left for them by the exchangers, toys their grandchildren had outgrown.
We don't like to spend our vacation cooking so we had stocked up on groceries at a famous California grocery called Trader Joe's. It cost $150 for two weeks of simple sandwich ingredients, breakfast cereal and heat-and-eat gourmet meals, plus snacks and drinks for the kids.
The first few days were pleasant and relaxing. Then, suddenly, the creepiest thing started happening. We climbed up to the master bedroom sleeping loft to find a swarm of flies covering the window.
Where could they be coming from? We had not opened any windows, the doors were firmly shut, and the problem seemed to be confined to the sleeping loft area. With a handy rolled-up newspaper I quickly took care of the problem -- or so I thought.
I woke up the next morning to flies buzzing above the bed. Our friends were back. We triple-checked every window and screen but we could not tell where the flies might be coming from. Newspaper in hand, I again wreaked havoc on the flies.
I don't like to bother my swap partners, but they had doubtless had this problem before and would hopefully have suggestions on how to address it. To avoid disturbing them during their own vacation, I wrote a gentle note describing the situation and asking for advice.
The swappers wrote back saying they had no idea what was going on and hoped we could deal with it. Thanks.
I would kill two dozen flies and a few hours later there would be dozens more on the window again. This was proving to be a disgusting way to spend our vacation. If I were staying in a hotel I could insist on changing rooms. In a home exchange, my options were to ask the home-owners for advice or deal with it myself.
I am usually game for anything when on home exchange. We have done repairs around the home if there was something simple the swappers had over-looked. I have broken things and replaced them. We often do chores for our swap partners like watering their landscaping, caring for their pets or even farm animals, accepting deliveries for them and so on. I view home exchange as if I were staying in my own temporary home, and I treat that home as I would want my own home treated.
The fly thing was gross, though. It was starting to feel like a biblical plague. I rarely consider decamping from a home exchange and finding a hotel, but in this case I was starting to think we should make an exception.....
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