Boo Hoo. The home exchanger said something mean about our apartment. We have spent the last month fixing it up. Just before the swapper arrived we had it professionally cleaned. I collected a bunch of info about our area including articles on local attractions, menus from nearby restaurants and some guide books and maps.
The swapper came in and praised the apartment's cleanliness. I joked that I would give her a tour of both wings of the apartment (it is a 400-square foot home). She noted that the home is indeed small and that the tour she would give me of her home would take a lot longer because her home was so much larger. That did not offend me. I imagine that almost every American who does not live in Manhattan has a larger home than this one.
The comment that struck me as not so nice was when she told me "We got started late asking for a swap so we didn't have much choice." This part was true enough. She just contacted me last month about a swap that started today. Most exchangers begin searching for an exchange several months in advance. The problem was when she went on to say: "We were offered this place or another tiny apartment on the Upper West Side that was as dark as a cave. I figured one cave was as good as another."
I wasn't thrilled about having our little home, humble as it may be, described as a cave. It has two regular-width floor-to-ceiling windows in the bedroom, and the only thing one sees from those windows is sun and a lovely mimosa tree which is currently in bloom.
Home exchange is about offering generous hospitality but it is also about graciously accepting that hospitality. I linked to photos of our swap home above. Does it look like a cave to you?
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