Expats and the telephone....

ronald1168 says on Dec 17, 2005, 11:46:

Thanks Calling Colombia from the UK is very cheap I call Colombia for 1 pence (a bit less then 2 cents) per minute. So i don't mind calling to Colombia. Cost me as much as a local call.



R. Donders
London
ronald at donders.co.uk

ronald@donders.co.uk

thur says on Dec 17, 2005, 12:32:

Netherlands. Through carrier select we pay 2 eurocents a minute at the moment. So every other day or once every two days there's a call (which is between 30-45 minutes. Promotional fare, usually it's from 7 to 10 eurocents depending on the way you call (carrier select, prepay cards or through country service numbers).
Greetings,

-and a daily e-mail about one A4 printed-

- www.pbase.com/thur

utopiacowboy says on Dec 17, 2005, 13:04:

My wife calls her mother about once a week for half an hour. Occasionally she'll call one of her sisters or a friend.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

cam0940 says on Dec 17, 2005, 17:16:

Thanks UC. This wasn't really about price, this was more about how much do expats feel it necessary to call. Once a week for half an hour seems reasonable. When my gf calls, everyone wants to pass the phone around one after another and pretty soon its an hour or an hour and a half, multiple times per week. I don't understand how there's that much to say.

silviat says on Dec 17, 2005, 18:04:

well cam she also left the country pretty recently... so she probably doenst have an huge network in her new city and feels more need of talking to her family.

There is a lot to say... I imagine she wants to tell everyone the new things she is seeing, and they all feel they should keep her updated about what's going on in COL.

I call my mother about 30 minutes everyday (sometimes 3 or 4 times a week). But we have vonage so its really unexpensive, and being I my mom's only child I think she really needs it, and I need it as well.
And believe me, if I wasn't consious we need to save money for the down payment of our future home, and if I wouldn't have a lot ot stuff going on here, and little free time... I would be calling my friends a lot.

Plus not many guys understand how much girls (specially a latin one) have to say

emero says on Dec 20, 2005, 04:17:

My boyfriend speaks to his parents most days and has called his mates in colombia a few times too

As Ronald says calling from the UK is cheap, so it's not a problem, though I don't speak to my parents half as much as he speaks to his. At first I thought it strange and kinda obsessive, as I knew nothing about his culture, now I'm used to his closeness to his family, that's who he is, and what makes him happy.


hugs Diane x

hugs Diane x

Brians says on Dec 20, 2005, 04:25:

Everyday My wife calls Colombia everyday. SOmetime for a few minutes sometime for 40 minutes. I think it is a small price to pay for her to be happy. I just asked her to call land lines as cells are about 50% more under our plan. Anyway I estimate it costs me about $50 to $60 a month. It is like a cheap dinner for her and I remember the reason I fell in love was her closeness to her family.

dwmte says on Dec 20, 2005, 04:34:

my wife calls home as much/often as she wants... sometimes a couple of times a week, sometimes more. i don't think it's an issue of cost, at all. it's what keeps her happy. colombians are so close within their families to much this up with thoughts as to how much it's costing us is rude, to say the least.

i often tell her to call so she wont think she's spending too much money. what else are we gonna spend money on? i think our costs, using 10-10-925 or direct dial (bellsouth) is about $40.00 a month, + or -.

just call, it's sanity at it's root.

dw

utopiacowboy says on Dec 20, 2005, 07:38:

Reading these posts, I am sure glad that I am married to my wife. She is much closer to me than she is to her family which IMHO is how it should be.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

cam0940 says on Dec 22, 2005, 08:27:

I agree with you UC, that's why I asked the question in the original post. I think it's nice to have a warm, open, loving family that communicates with one another. At the end of the day however, we are supposedly building a life together. At some stage, the volume of calls can make you wonder if she is emotionally "here" or "there". It also presents questions of independence from the family, adulthood, etc. Once there was a thread talking about 40 year old men living with their mothers. That is wierd to me. At some stage the chicks have to leave the nest. That doesn't mean don't speak to the family at all--that's not what I'm trying to say. I'm just wondering where the line is between being out "on your own" and still being under the wing of mommy and daddy. So, for those reasons I asked how often other expats "phone home". Speaking of which, home is an abstract concept. I think that since my gf lives here now, Los Angeles is home. Cartagena is her birthplace. There's a difference, and I realize it takes some time to accept a new home. But by the volume of calls, I don't believe my gf has reached that point.

Crazy4Cali says on Dec 22, 2005, 11:51:

We got vonage so she can call all her U.S. relatives for free and all her Colombian relatives for just a few cents per minute. This way, I don't have to worry about the phone bill (and I can check it online if I do worry). I'm with BrianS on this one. If I can keep her sanity for the price of a dinner, it's a worthwhile investment.

When I'm home I get more attention then I know what to do with so I got no complaints. So it seems like a "win-win" for all concerned.