Because of technology, the days of snail mail and “letters in a bottle” are long gone, providing opportunities to stay in touch with friends and loved ones no matter where you are in the world.

Phones

Depending on which phone you own and the provider, see about getting your phone unlocked before going abroad if you can’t find an affordable  international plan or coverage. Sim cards can be purchased to make local calls in almost any country without having to get a long-term contract. (This is especially true for the some of poorer, less developed countries.) Make sure to ask the locals about what you should be paying so you don’t get ripped off paying the “tourist” prices.) As an example,  a local in Egypt will pay 5-10 Egyptian pounds for a sim card (which is next to nothing.) An unsuspecting tourist may be charged 100 or 200 pounds (thinking this is still cheaper than what they would have paid in their home country.) Know before you pay (and support their tourism industry by using that money to see their country instead.)

Skype

The beauty about Skype is that as long as you have an internet connection, you can talk for free to other registered users (no matter where you both are in the world.) Video and conferencing capabilities (if you have a web cam) can almost be as intimate as sitting in the same room, allowing you to see emotion, physical changes, etc. ) It’s the most personal approach I have found in keeping touch long distance. Here are a few tips on how to maximize the most of it.

Sign up before you leave and help your loved ones who may night be so computer savvy get signed up as well. (It took months trying to explain to my dad how it worked over phone and email, and I finally had to set up the profile for him and send the passwords so he could sign in.) If everyone is signed up and connected before you go, it will make it that much easier to get and stay connected while you are away, and is the cheapest way to do it (it’s free.)

If you are speaking with someone who is not registered, you can purchase a certain amount of credit that can be used towards calling them. It offers low international rates, and if you plan on calling a certain country a lot, you can subscribe directly to that country to get even lower rates. You can establish a “web number” allowing people a constant number to reach you by (even if just to leave messages or texts and SMS) or a Skype ”To Go” number which allows you to set up someone else’s number as a local number to the country you are in so you would be charged at local rates versus international. For example, let’s say I have a friend in Australia that I want to stay in touch with. I can put their number in the system which will assign a “fake” number here in the U.S., and call them from my phone here in the U.S. as if I am calling a local number.

If you download Skype onto your phone, you can also use it for internet capabilities, using the credit from your account to pay for Wi-fi anywhere you can get a connection. You only pay for the time you are online, not the amount you download. These are just the many features this program has. For more information and to set up an account, head to their website at www.skype.com

Social Media

It seems as if sites like Facebook and Twitter are literally taking over the world! But it’s a great way to stay in touch with people back home, as well as new friends you meet along the way. Status updates can tell a loved one (even if you don’t remember to call them directly) that you have arrived safely in a new location, as well as share pictures of your adventures and travels and provides a way of backing up your photos electronically. My mom, my dad, and my grandmother have all converted to Facebook users since I have been gone which has even replaced sending electronic mail and resulted in much more frequent communication. You can also set certain areas to “private” if you don’t want them to see all your late night shenanigans.

Post Cards

Although technology has allowed so many great ways to stay in contact, it’s still fun and more meaningful to get good old-fashioned mail every once in a while, and it’s fun to go through their collection when you get home and remember all of the places you were able to see. I personally try to buy one for myself for each place I visit as my own memento (and sometimes the picture is much better than what you were able to capture yourself, especially in places where no photography is allowed.)