April Fools Day!

I tried to think of some good joke for today, but the joke was on me! Instead of joking, I ended up doing some serious thinking…

How different would the experience that I’m having now have been just 10 years ago?
By that, I mean that if people in their 20’s were doing this in 1993, how would their experience have been different than mine?

In 1993, they would _not_ have had:
-easy/cheap Internet/email access
-digital pictures to send/receive
-mobile phones so that people could reach them anytime

People just 10 years ago would only have had phone calls and letters to stay in contact. Imagine, mailing a letter and waiting weeks for a response!! *laugh*

What about 20-30 years ago? In Egypt and many places, the availability of a phone would have been severely limited at that time.

For those of you reading this with experience living “away from home” for extended periods of time, what do you think about my questions – based on what you went through.

…and for everyone else, what do you think? Are you glad about having this level of contact? Or would it be better to look forward to visits or hand-written letters?

Please post Comments or share your thoughts with me through email.

Which way is better? It makes me very happy that I am able to stay in touch with so many people by email and chatting online. I also like being able to have this journal available. But does this make me feel too close? It’s the _feeling_ of closeness, without the reality of being with/near people.

If I didn’t have all these ways of staying in contact, then maybe I would just go about my life and not think of people as often, or just look forward to people coming to visit. I think of my friends and family often – when I look at a picture, hear a song, see a certain car, or just remember back to happy occasions.

Now don’t get too concerned. *smile* Certainly, I’ve been a bit sad in thinking about this topic today and in typing out my thoughts, but I’m ok. A very good friend asked me today if I was feeling “culture shocked”. At the time, I denied that I was, but the answer is probably yes.

But I’ll get through it, and it’s not too bad. Today was a good day! The sun was shining and it was very warm. It was 25C (77F) when I was walking around at 6pm and it was much warmer than that at noon when I was getting a bit of sun and reading.

…listening to Fleetwood Mac’s “The Dance” while typing this… Any other Fleetwood Mac fans out there? Will anyone be getting tickets for their N. American tour this summer? The song “My Little Demon” seems to be stuck in my brain now.

I still have some preparation to do for teaching on Wednesday (yeah, I’m a broken record when it comes to talking about class), but after tomorrow I have a few days off again. I’m surrounded by good people here, and I have plenty of support.