MBV Phones Home: How I Stay in Touch from Italy
Posted on: May 24, 2010
One of the hardest things for me as an expectant expat was the idea of not talking to my family every day … and of course, by family, I mean my mom.
In the US we talked two or three times a day and I knew the costs of maintaining that habit would be prohibitively expensive once I lived in Calabria.
Yes, the world had already been introduced to Yahoo IM and AOL … I even had a Windows Live Messenger account, but I knew it wasn’t enough.
New expats now have Skype and can video and voice chat computer-to-computer for hours without getting into debt. But that doesn’t work for everyone.
My family is from a small town in the Big Thicket, where high speed wireless is just being introduced. Sure, they could use an Internet key, but for people who are at work as much as they are home, it was a hassle they weren’t ready to face.
Additionally, I wanted to be able to call my mom at work … where she can’t Skype, have long chats with my Skype-free grandparents and be able to call cousins, aunts, uncles and friends when I wanted.
Like I did in the US.
And I dreaded my international move because of this.
Luckily for me, the powers that be at Telecom Italia understood my dilemma and stepped in-just in the nick of time-to help.
For €10 a month, Telecom customers can sign up for Teleconomy Internazionale, the calling plan that lets you call unlimited minutes to landlines in the United States and to countries throughout Western Europe.
And it has been a lifesaver.
Of course, that calling plan will be used a little bit differently for the next five weeks. From today through the end of June I’ll be in Texas, speaking face-to-face with my family and Texas-based friends and it will be my dear ‘ole husband-stranded in southern Italy, diligently working at our bed and breakfast-who’ll be making those calls.
Regular readers will notice my posting schedule has been a little different this month. I’ll continue to post a few times a week and will post new Travel Tip Tuesday updates twice a month throughout the summer.
Why the whole summer, you ask?
Well, because I’m not coming back empty-handed.
In July, Il Cedro B&B will have two new employees … my nine year old nephew, Cole and my friend’s 14 year old son, Jake. I know the boys are anxious to get to Calabria and are ready, no doubt, to iron sheets, scrub bathtubs and serve hot coffee to go to the beaches. And well, I can’t let them down, now can I?
Have a great June and I’ll see you when I get back!
Traveling to southern Italy? Click here to see how I can help you plan your trip to Calabria or southern Italy.
Photo: gstene
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Have a great trip Cherrye!
Grazie!
nyc/caribbean ragazza´s last blog ..All this negativity is making me more motivated.
With Skype you can call regular phones too, and for very little. A 25 euro credit usually lasts me 6 months, and I talk to my sisters for hours at a time – niether of whom have Skype.
I’m so glad you found something that works for you! It is such a relief to be able to call home whenever you want without thinking of $$!
Have a fabulous time back home Cherrye! And, BTW, you changed my expat life here in Italy when you told me about that Telecom plan months ago. Now I call home to family just like I used to in the States. Grazie milllllllllle!
Safe travels!
Ah, thank you, Laura. That is so nice to say. I love that plan, too.
Laura from Ciao Amalfi´s last blog ..Beyond Rome…
have a great time! make sure you eat a whataburger and think of me!
If I do, do ya wanna hear about it?
Sonia´s last blog ..Breast Feeding in Public…. because I CAN!
Safe trip Cherr, enjoy your time home…..really excited about Cole coming back with you…x
Thankya, Jen. We can’t wait to hang out this summer. Cole is all ready to go!
Have a great and safe trip. It’s funny, most days I think of how it would be nice NOT to talk to my family everyday
Ha! It was great chatting with you the other day. Now I can call you all of the time, too!
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