International Calling

If you haven't already done the research, an international calling plan is rather expensive. Not only do you pay an additional monthly charge, but you also pay for each minute of calling. For AT&T, the rate (as of yesterday) averaged about $5.00 additional per month charge for calls to Europe. An additional .20-.30 cents was charged per minute of phone usage depending on the country you are visiting. I also talked to a specialist from T-mobile who told me it would be cheaper to use Skype, long-distance calling cards, or to buy a phone when I got over there because the rates charged would depend on the country you are in and not your provider back home.

I looked into using skype.com and oovoo.com. These are both online video chatting networks that are free. All you have to do is sign-up, plug your web cam in, and your good to go. The only downside to this is that you are limited to who can talk to if your friends don't have a web cam or if their computer is too old to support one. Although it is relatively easy to figure out, it also limits you from talking to people who are not as technologically savvy.

On a personal note, I use Oovoo to talk with my boyfriend. I thought it was extremely easy to use after it was set-up. I'm sure if you set it up for your parents or whoever needs it, they can figure it out once it's installed. FYI: you might want to buy a decent web cam with a microphone. I think the one I got was from Wal-Mart and I only paid like $40 bucks for it.

Travel Safe,

Some Study Abroad Girl