Chris and Tristan agreed to book their trips a month after they’d met on Lesbianfriendsworldwide.com. Tristan asked if it would be okay to have a live video chat before finalizing everything. This would provide one more layer of comfort and security between both parties. Chris was quick to agree, and also added that it might be more convenient if they addressed each other with their real names. Zi Lun was chris80chris’s Chinese name, but she said that Tristan could call her Chris.

Once arrangements had been settled, Chris was happy to connect with her swap-mate face to face on a screen. They set up a live chat a week later. Tristan suggested that this could also serve as a video tour of the accommodations they intended to trade.

Seeing Tristan bundled in warm clothing made Chris hesitate about the whole idea. She asked herself if she was really ready to trade hot and humid Taiwan with dry and bitter-cold Canada.

Once onscreen, the girls shared a laugh, noting how they were both wearing scarves. In Chris’s case, it served as fashion over function. Tristan, on the other hand, wore a scarf and hoodie because even with efficient indoor heaters, winters were brutal in this part of Canada. She had recently come in from doing errands, and hadn’t defrosted yet.

Chris joked that she’d have to mummify herself if she planned to survive Canada. In her sub-par but nonetheless understandable English, Chris smirked and said, “Suddenly I ask why I plan this trip not in summer.”

That smirk appealed to Tristan very much. The moment Chris’s face had graced the computer screen, Tristan immediately felt winded. The friendly aura about Chris was overwhelming. Her childlike eyes were playful, and her skin reminded Tristan of fresh-fallen snow. Simply put, Chris was startlingly beautiful.

Tristan was thankful she was wrapped in woolens and fleece, because they hid her ears. Her ears turned hot pink when she was embarrassed, awkward or shy. Chris’s babyface practically made Tristan’s ears bleed.

A burst of chilly air bit at Tristan’s face, as she dragged her suitcase through the airport’s revolving door entrance. Stomping snow off her boots once inside, she smiled. She would definitely not miss the messy winter weather.

Before boarding her plane, she stuffed her puffy quilted coat into her luggage. She was completely ready for the t-shirt weather that awaited her, nineteen hours later in Taiwan. Briefly, she thought about poor Chris, and how unfair a deal this was. While Tristan would be soaking up Vitamin D in the daytime, and eating amazing 3 AM BBQ snacks at sundry night markets, what would her swap-mate be doing? Tristan imagined Chris buried under ten blankets, wearing footie-pajamas, down Cognac-laced hot cocoa. She’d probably be watching ice pellets hit the frosty window of Tristan’s living room, cursing herself for thinking Canada in the dead of winter would be an adventure.

Yet across the ocean, Chris was excitedly packing up her final piece of luggage. The idea of four months anywhere but here delighted her. Her flight was only tomorrow afternoon, but she was rarin’ to go now. She was a ball of nervous energy, and she knew she’d have trouble getting to sleep tonight.

It didn’t much matter, because she had her travel pillow all set for the long flight. She’d definitely be able to recover some of that missed sleep high above the clouds for nearly twenty hours.

Pushing suitcases into a cab, Tristan practiced her Chinese and gave the driver the address of Chris’s condo. Once seated, she smoothed down her hair. It seemed even ten minutes in Taiwan’s climate made Tristan’s generally manageable hair, a bit of a hot mess.

“But I’m in a freaking t-shirt!” she yelped giddily. The words tumbled from in English, and the cab driver asked her to repeat herself. Embarrassed at her silly outburst, she apologized in Chinese. Even so, she continued to smile to herself, while watching the foreign scenery pass outside the window.

When Tristan finally stood in front of Chris’s home, she read the note that was stuck to the door. In Chinese, it said Welcome! And below it, in scribbly English, Please get key from neighbor Lucy nextdoor. Enjoy a stay!

Tristan rang Lucy’s doorbell, and was greeted by a pretty brunette with large eyes. Hearing Tristan stammer in Chinese, she smiled and said, “I speak a bit English.”

Chris had already briefed her, so she’d been expecting the visitor. She promptly produced an envelope and said, “Here is Zi Lun key.”

Once inside Chris’s condo, Tristan made the rounds, and oriented herself. The space was quaint, and smelled vaguely of citrus and cinnamon.

After locating the fridge, the toilet and the couch, she unpacked a few things, and admired Chris’s hat collection. The rack had only two free hooks. The rest were taken up be fedoras, colorful baseball caps and a couple of beanies. Tristan hoped the two missing hats were fur-lined with earflaps, if they had traveled to Canada. She thought back to her video chat with Chris, and smiled at the idea of them both wearing scarves. Now, she could see they also shared an affinity for hats. Tristan rummaged through her suitcase to retrieve her trusty cap, and placed it on one of the free hooks.

She was excited to explore the neighborhood, but needed a power nap after the long flight. Endearing as her current settings were, she wondered if people in Taiwan didn’t use beds, or if it was just Chris’s quirk to prefer sleeping on a couch. Nowhere in the small home did Tristan notice a mattress or a futon. Exhaustion took over, and Tristan fell asleep on the couch. The last thought she’d had before closing her heavy eyelids, was that she’d have to send Chris an email about the peculiar bed situation.