The Currency of Communications

I was thinking the other day how much the means for staying in touch with loved ones have changed since my first overseas voyages.

Stamps

1988/89: My first time in Africa. I was volunteering in Rwanda with Canada World Youth. I was part of a group of 7 Canadians and 7 Rwandans. We lived together in a compound that had been built for Chinese workers who had come to Rwanda to establish a rice plantation. Rice never really caught on as a cash commodity, but that's another story. As volunteers, we were given a basic monthly stipend, enough to treat ourselves to a goat brochette, fries, and a bottle of fanta at the local canteen, but not much more. We were also given a bar of soap, toilet paper, and stamps. Stamps were a valuable commodity to us Canadians. The only communication we had to and from loved ones at home was through letters, that took weeks to months to cross the miles. When we couldn't find note paper, we used the wrapping from the toilet paper roles, or leaves, to write letters on. Care packages from home were a big treat. I remember Rachel D. was especially generous when it came to sharing her loot, which always include fun sweets of some sort. The Rwandans didn't get stamps. That was a big issue for them. They had a meeting one night, then presented an argument that they should be given something of equal value. They got extra soap.

Telephone

1991: The former Czech and Slovak Federal Rebublic. I arrived in January. It was cold. I was sent to a Bohemian mining town to teach English to the engineers and directors of a mining company. I was given accommodations in a dormitory for 14 year-old boys who were learning to be miners. They were all away for school holidays. There was no heat in the building (no one presumed anyone would be living there). I caught pneumonia. The company doctor took me home to live with his family until I recovered. In my feverish delirium, I stumbled for the Czech phrases for "I have a cold" and "I need to find a telephone". I wanted to let my family know where I was and that I was okay (sort of). When I was well enough to leave the house, I was taken to use a public phone in the post office.

A Cell Phone, Air Time, a Laptop, and a Wireless Connection

2012: Gaborone, Botswana. My first day here, I was taken to buy a cell phone. I also got the code for my new house's wireless connection. I have nearly daily skype calls with friends and family, I discovered I can exchange text messages with my brother in Ontario for next to nothing, and the other day, I dedicated a song via a web radio show to my 14 year-old niece, while we were chatting on Facebook.

Her reaction:
'OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGWOOOAAAHHHH',
is 14 year-old speak for 'Cool', and pretty well sums up my sentiments about how the technology of today lets loved ones stay in touch across the miles.

How times have changed.