In my last artilce I wrote about cellphones. This time, the topic is still on communication. Some of you might experience homesickness, probably more than once while you’re abroad. And then there will be others who will never experience it, but no matter what we all have people back home who will worry about us and would like to receive updates on our well being and whereabouts. So, I will go over some of the ways to keep in touch with people back home. The cell phone sim card that you purchased probably can make international calls. If you are willing to pay for it, you can, after checking the time difference, call home. I feel that calling home is the best option out there because parents tend to feel better hearing your voice instead of receiving an email. I know some kids here who text or webcam with their parents. My parents are old school and aren’t up to date with technology so, if it is something important I will call home, and if it’s not I will facebook or skype my sister to get in contact with them.
Skype will become your best friend. There are times when I really miss my loved ones back home. I even forced some of my friends to get a Skype so that we could keep in touch.
Lesson: Force your friends to download Skype and actually use it. If they are unwilling then there is still Facebook. I am one of those people who check my facebook more than once a day. It helps. I love receiving the random facebook post. If not, I also have long facebook message/chats with my friends.
Having a Facebook is pretty awesome or at least in my opinion it is. It will keep you updated and connected with people back at home and with the people you meet while studying abroad. This is why I think people in China should be allowed to use Facebok. (I hated not being able to show my Facebook pictures to my cousin while I was there!)
Besides Skype, there is Google+. I think the connection for Google plus is better than Skype, but it is easier to webcam on Skype since more people actually use it more and you can just leave it on while doing other stuff. However, the nice thing about Google plus, unlike skype, is that you can webcam with more than one other person (hangouts). There are times it just works out better to webcam a group of friends instead of each friend individually. Also, back home, I did a project on Google plus because you can open Google docs while webcamming and actually ask “what is this” or “why did you type or erase that”. It made the project go by smoother since we could not all meet up in person.
To all my friends, I know I have not been signing on to skype as much. I have been busy with school and hanging out since the time I have left here is dwindling, but like I said you can always Facebook me! In addition, I always try to keep updating my blog. So, you can always find out what I have been up to.
That reminds me having a blog is pretty convenient. It can be your journal/diary that you can look back on which is nice when the program ends. And for those family members or friends that like reading, they can get their updates this way.
I cannot believe I have only about a month left!