Staying connected to home while living abroad

Hello Dear Reader,

I hope that this blog post finds you well!

When I served in the Peace Corps from 2006 to 2008, staying connected with my friends and family back home was, well let's just say...expensive! If I wanted to communicate with my friends and family back home, I could 1) write an email if and when the internet was on its best behavior; 2) do what we in Southern Africa call a 'missed call', meaning let the phone ring a couple of times so caller ID would register your number, and hang up before anyone on the other side picked up or 3) Hope that someone on the other side would pick up the home sickness in the atmosphere and like you enough to call. Back then, I knew nothing about Skype and the internet speed wasn't fast enough to have reliable access to AOL instant messenger or gchat. Sad face.

During my service, I relied very heavily on option #2- the missed call. The challenge with this option was that my parents were often the only ones who could afford to call me back on a regular basis. As a result, my parents learned more about my personal and work life than they probably would have otherwise...boyfriend problems and all.

When I accepted my position in Lesotho, my parents were not too thrilled at the thought of gazillion dollar monthly phone bills (+/- $800/month) for the duration of my employment. Luckily, somehow, Skype came into my life...the single greatest invention for improving the quality of life for expats, only second to SOS insurance!

Ahh Skype! I (heart) Skype! With Skype, combined with 'fast and reliable' internet access, I'm able to keep up with everyone. I not only have the program, but a US number that people without Skype can contact me on (i.e. grandparents, my bank when I have fraud alerts on my accounts after using it in some random country, etc.), Skype calls forwarded to my Lesotho cell phone, group video chats, and low cost international calling rates when my fiance is on site visits and away from his...Skype! No, I'm not getting paid by Skype, don't worry. It's just that Skype has revolutionized my life abroad...don't even get me started on Facebook (although I think it's the devil!)!

Speaking of the Devil (not FB), but my dad is actually calling me right now. Hold please....

No fathers were harmed in the taking of this Skype screen shot

As you can see, Skype just allowed me to have a brief conversation with my daddy-o for a quick hello...and to tell him about my up-coming trips to Ethiopia and the US of A! Awesome, huh?!

I told him that he'd be making a guest appearance on my lil' ole RPCV blog, specifically talking about how the addition of Skype in our lives has allowed both them and me to be more comfortable with their only daughter living abroad and away from home for extended periods of time. He also wanted me to highlight the fact that, Skype is free, thus eliminating the need to keep calls to me as a line item on his budget!

On another note, with the advent of FB, smart phones, and inexpensive internet service on cellphones, currently serving PCVs are also able to afford to and are able to keep up with friends and family back home! For instance, PCVs in Lesotho, some of whom are so remote that, in order to get cellphone reception have to walk up the tallest hill, can even keep in touch on the regular! (P.S. That's something you can tell your 'nay-saying' parents when they bring that up as a reason why you should not serve in the Peace Corps.)

Oops...I need to cut this blog post short, I see that my BFF (an RPCV- South Africa) currently living in South Sudan just popped on Skype...gotta run!!!

Gchat with you later!

Dani