Staying Connected

The last things we thought we would have when we entered the Peace Corps were cell phones, Internet and a satellite radio, but low and behold we have come to love each and every one of them. Although we were able to get by just fine without a cell phone in the states, upon arriving in South Africa we were informed that practically everyone in the country has a cell phone and we would be silly not to get one. Furthermore, as land lines are very scarce, cell phones have become the main communication link between the P.C Office and the volunteers and SMSing (text messaging) between volunteers is vital in maintaining sanity. Although it took Kelli a few months to figure out how to use her simple phone (she is still afraid of Joe’s high tech one with the Internet and a camera) and she ‘accidentally’ dropped it a few times after fighting with how to SMS, she is no longer embarrassed to use it in public. Joe has had a lot of fun figuring out how to use the Internet on his phone and with a simple USB cord our laptop is now connected. However, in order to save money (we are charged airtime per gigabyte of information) we have disabled everything but text. It takes a little getting used to the lack of pictures and blindly searching for buttons, but its well worth it to be connected through e-mail. Our third technological luxury, a satellite radio, is courtesy of Joe’s parents. After becoming addicted to NPR in the states, we were ecstatic to learn from another volunteer that we could indeed stay tuned in with the help of a World Space satellite radio. Little did Joe’s mom know when she ordered the radio that it would take two months, hundreds of phone calls and e-mails, two drop-off dates and Joe walking every inch of our house with the antennae in order to finally hear the sweet sounds of Diane Rehm. We now listen to NPR almost every day and are able to switch to the beautiful British accents on BBC when shows start repeating. 4 am laundry sessions are almost becoming bearable.