Taking it old school

It’s been interesting adjusting to new ways of technology while over here.  I knew coming that our iPhones would be useless other than mini wi-fi connections.  I just thought that we would get cell phones as soon as we got here.  How else are we to survive?????  Well, turns out it’s not so bad living like its 1999.  Stewart got a cell phone for work but I have been cell phone free for a month and a half.  Granted, there are conveniences to having a mobile phone as they’re referred to over here.  For one thing, the embassy compound is surprisingly big for such a small area.  If I’m trying to locate Stewart, it’s a bit difficult some days.  There is only one exit directly out of his building but he could go numerous ways to get to that exit and then go two separate ways to get to the Canteen where we’re meeting for lunch.  I have no way of knowing if he’s on his way, and, if I decide to go to his office to meet him instead, it’s always a guessing game.  You have to remind yourself that people survived without cell phones pretty much until the early 2000s.  I remember getting my first phone in November 2001.  It was so cool too.  Granted it didn’t text or connect to the internet but it did have the game “Snake”!  I know I’ll eventually have to get a phone because it really does become a necessity when you have a driver.  Sometimes, you don’t know how long you’ll be somewhere, and the driver is unable to wait outside so he goes off someplace else to wait for you to call and say you’re done.  Luckily, I’ve had Teresa with me so I’ve been able to use her phone.  But after this time away from a cell phone, I really think that when I get one, I just want your basic phone.  Texting would be nice but I don’t need the games or internet.  It might be nice to live not so “connected”. 

Another old school throwback is our house phone.  Gosh, I feel like a teenager some days using it.  The embassy provides the phones and none of them are cordless.  There are no answering machines, and we don’t have caller id.  The only people I’m really talking to on it are Teresa or Stewart.  When Teresa and I chat, I get comfy in my chair because there’s no going anywhere with the phone!  I’m a bit luckier as I don’t have a toddler to try and keep an eye on while talking. 

Right now, we don’t have internet in our new house.  I’ve been able to work on projects that I need to get done.  And, also, because we’re over here, we can’t stream Netflix or watch tv shows online.  We don’t have cable tv which seems to shock people we meet.  Our evenings have been nice.  Occasionally, Stewart will bring home a DVD from work (think all the hits from the 90s) but we mainly sit around the living room and talk or read books or sit outside with the dogs.

We’ll see what it’s like living in a world with a lot less technology.   For now, we’re all enjoying it.