A Home Exchange That Turned Into a Family Reunion

At HomeExchange, we love letting the people who know best do the talking: our members. This story was written by Laura, an Argentinian member who expanded her family and rebuilt her family tree - all thanks to HomeExchange.

I've completed over 90 exchanges on the platform and hosted people from all over the world. A few months ago, an Argentinian member from the province of Córdoba reached out to stay at my apartment in Buenos Aires for a few days. That exchange ended up uncovering a part of my family history I never knew existed. HomeExchange opened the door to this reunion.

When someone sends you an exchange request, you only see their first name, not their last name. But once the exchange is confirmed, you get all their details. That's how I noticed, after confirming the exchange with Estela, that her last name was the same as my paternal grandmother's maiden name: Libe.

I happened to be on vacation with my mom at the time, and she mentioned that my dad had a first cousin who was a doctor and ran a clinic in Córdoba. I had no idea part of my family lived there. I immediately told Estela, my guest, and she was thrilled to hear it.

It turned out that my dad's first cousin who had moved to Córdoba, Cecilio, was none other than Estela's grandfather. We had lost touch with that branch of the family entirely, so this was a wonderful discovery. She was just as excited. I have a big family here in Buenos Aires, but her side in Córdoba is much smaller. Suddenly, the family got bigger!

When Estela came to Buenos Aires for the exchange, we arranged to meet at a café. She brought her husband, and it was such a warm, easy afternoon. We talked for over three hours and nearly stayed until closing time. Both of us were so happy to have found new family. What a coincidence that we were both on HomeExchange and that she happened to choose my apartment.

From there, we started piecing together the family tree with help from some of the older cousins. We're talking about people who arrived in Argentina over 100 years ago. I'm the youngest granddaughter of that grandmother's twelfth child, her youngest.

We traced the family all the way back to the first ancestor who came to Argentina from Ukraine. It turns out that my great-grandfather and her great-great-grandfather, Yankel, are the same person. He arrived in Argentina, in Carlos Casares, in 1891. A few days ago I even found a photo of him and sent it to Estela. She noticed right away that he had very almond-shaped eyes, just like everyone in the family 😄.

My full name is Laura Estela, after a great-grandmother, and I'm pretty sure Estela was named the same way. When I mentioned it to her, she didn't know about this ancestor, but I do, and I'm certain they kept up the same family tradition…

Estela has since bought an apartment in Buenos Aires, which was actually the reason for her first visit and her stay at my place. She'll be back in the city very soon. And of course, we'll be seeing each other again! HomeExchange made this family reunion possible, and now we're the ones keeping it going.