International Students Phone Home!
Lesson Summary:
Why Call Home?
Best Ways for Calling Home:
1. Mail
2. Phone
3. Cellular Phone
4. International Phone Cards
5. Email
6. Instant Messaging
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Why should students phone home?
One of the biggest concerns of many students who are studying abroad is keeping in touch with relatives. Moving across the globe to a new country requires adjusting to a whole new life, which can be quite complicated. Calling home will give you the support of your parents, siblings, and friends.
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Your family and relatives will want to know how you’re doing! While you may be busy most days, you should still try and call home at least once a week to let them know you’re safe, healthy, and happy. As well, many students call home for a very important reason- to ask for money. If you’re short on cash and want your parents to transfer funds into your bank account, calling home is a must. But of course, keeping family ties and old friendships is also very important.
An important question that must be on your mind is- how can I phone home?
What are the best ways for students to contact home?
There are several ways for you to contact home. Some are better than others. Of course, costs are also an issue. Let’s outline the various tools you could use to contact your family:
1. Mail Services
Writing a letter home is fun, especially if you enjoy writing. It’s not a great way of communication though- using the national mail company or other global services (such as FedEx of UPS) is quite expensive. Often your letter will take a long while until it arrives- regular mail only costs about $2 at most, but it may take up to 2 weeks to reach its destination. If you’re sending packages though, mail and delivery services are the only way to go.
2. Regular Phone
Everybody knows regular phones. Whether you live in residence on campus or off-campus in a regular apartment, you’ll likely have access to a phone line. Phones are simple and easy to use, and connections are usually fairly secure. However, regular phone lines are expensive and can cost up to $30 a month just as a flat fee. Calling overseas (known as long-distance calling) costs quite a lot unless you can secure a special plan with the phone company. Bottom line- don’t use phones to call home.
3. Cellular Phone
These days many people use cellphones. Mobile phones are convenient to use, as you can carry them around. You can also get really sophisticated phones and gadgets that allow you to access the internet and play awesome games. Simple cellphones will cost about as much as regular phones, while the new cool ones can cost a lot (lot!) more, and again long-distance calls are charged at a much higher rate. Also, there may be potential health risks associated with cellphones, although these aren’t proved (or at least publicized). It’s fun to have a cellphone for local calls, but calling home is far too expensive.
4. International Phone Cards
A much less expensive, yet convenient, method of calling overseas is using phone cards. You can find these at many convenience stores and other locations across the globe quite easily. They come at different costs- $5, $,10, $20, $50. Using a phone card you will follow the instructions on the back and be allowed to dial anywhere in the world for a relatively low price, ranging from 5¢ to 50¢ a minute (depending on where you’re calling). This is much cheaper than using regular phones or cellphones, so it’s a great way of keeping in touch.
5. Email
At school you’ll likely own a computer or else have access to one through libraries or computer labs. Emails are free to use in most cases, and they arrive much faster than paper letters. Email also solves the problem of the time zone shift- you may find it difficult to call home because the times are different. Emails are great.
6. Instant Messaging and the like
These days there are several programs that can allow you to stimulate phone conversations over the internet. MSN Live! Messenger is a very popular program, as is Skype. These allow you to have real-time conversations for free, and with the use of a webcam you’ll even be able to see your family. Now that’s great.
Call Home- Keep in Touch!
All time most popular tags
Skype rocks for international calling and video! I use it all the time to talk with family members overseas and also for business purposes. If you are a student studying abroad you should definitely check it out as an option to stay in touch with family and friends back home.
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