I can mash potato, I can do the twist…

This morning there was a message from a home exchanger waiting for me in my email.  It was from a retired couple in Vancouver, BC looking to swap their 2 bedroom condo.  We noticed that you are interested in Vancouver, what time of year are you looking for?  It was a nice surprise to get their message, as we’ve always had Vancouver on our list and this is a condo right in downtown.  I wrote them back right away and hopefully it’s a serious inquiry instead of one of those home exchange phishing emails, as I call them.  People will send the same initial message to a bunch of people, and see who replies. Then they will write back to the one they like the best, and never bother with the rest of the replies. It has happened to us a bunch of times, and although you can usually tell when the message starts off with Dear Home Owner, sometimes you think someone is interested when in fact they just told 30 other people how much they love their beautiful house and would love to talk about an exchange with them. It’s like dating. So I try not to take anyone too seriously until we’ve exchanged a few messages back and forth, in case they really don’t want to go out with me…I mean exchange houses with me. So far, while in Norway, we’ve gotten messages from Toronto, Paris, Quebec, and now Vancouver. I don’t think Paris is that serious (Paris is so popular that they can be aloof and picky), but the Toronto family seems quite interested and we’re hoping to work out a short swap in the fall.  Toronto is more like Florida – we know we’re somewhat attractive but we’re not going to be supermodels like Paris, Rome, or – God forbid – the Amalfi Coast anytime soon.  We don’t have to accept the first offer that comes calling, yet we don’t have to settle for the remote apartment with its dusty bookshelves and mantra must love cats. No, we’re Florida, funny with the great personality, a high school beauty now with a few extra pounds. We’re someone’s sweetheart, we just have to be patient.