My family likes to move around the world. I can honestly say there are at least a few people in almost all continents. So, my decision to study abroad in Hong Kong did not come as too much of a surprise for my family and friends. I was already in Boston, what’s a few more hours of time difference? As it seems, 7 extra hours of time difference makes for a huge adjustment.
I knew Hong Kong was going to be an adjustment but I wasn’t prepared for the rigors of time difference. It was difficult finding a time that suited everyone I needed to talk to that was not in the early am in Home Kong. Nevertheless, staying in touch with family and friends is something that is very important to me so I was going to figure out a way to work with it.
World clock became my best friend!
It is difficult enough trying to remember the time in two different countries on different continents. Now imagine 5; it’s hard! I made it a point to include everyone’s location on my phone, so that when I was in desperate need of a phone call to vent about a terrible midterm, or brag about the soft scarf I just bought. With this, I am able to make sure that it is an appropriate time for everyone anytime I call.
Early mornings and Late nights
As a college student, I normally have early mornings and late nights. Being in Hong Kong has not changed that part of college life one bit. One good thing about me staying up until the sun pierces through my window blinds, is that I get to talk to certain people that I would usually miss if my sleeping schedule was normal. As much as I hated the last minute assignments and essays, at least they were good for one thing.
Three continent calls
The first time this happened, it was by accident. One of my siblings had called on Facetime, and the other on Whatsapp. Instead of ending the call on one for the other, I decided to talk to both at the same time. This might not be such a big deal with Skype and new group Facetime, but one of us is in Nigeria and good service and Wi-fi is sometimes hard to come by.
After the first accidental three-way- call, my sisters and I took to something we call; three continent calls. To save time and reduce repetition on events going on in our lives. Once two people were on the phone, we added one more. In the end, we’re all sharing the same information… might as well tell the story just once.
The last time we had one of the three continent calls, I started to think about what students who had gone abroad in the late 80’s or early 90’s would do. Scratch that, imagine people who went abroad for school before that. I decided to do a little research on international communication.
Ancient civilizations used drum beats, town criers and smoke signals. Human beings needed faster and more efficient methods for communication so the telegraph was created. My dad has this joke about how, in those days the information you sent to friends and loved ones had to be incredibly short and straight to the point as you paid per letter (in the alphabet). Then, people would send pages of letters by mail detailing their experiences in their new locations to loved ones. However, sometimes these letters did not arrive till two or three months later…maybe even more. I feel like by that time, the sender would have returned, but I guess it’s the thought that counts.
With the invention of the phone, people would stand at phone booths. They would wait for hours to pay the outrageous international call fees just to talk for two minutes. Even as recently as the early 2000’s , I remember using scratch cards to call internationally (I think this is still used in certain places). Yet, all I have to do to have an hour conversation with a friend is pick up my phone.
A lot of this is common knowledge and to be honest, I am not sure a lot of them were for international correspondence. (I wonder what the definition of long distance was then?) But I think it is interesting for us to understand methods that were used prior to the existence of the Internet.
These days, even sending an email is not quick enough. If I send a message and don’t get a response from someone less than thirty minutes after I sent it, I get antsy. I can’t imagine having to wait 3 days, yet alone 3 months. Technology has made distance irrelevant and I love it. I can send immediate information to someone who is twelve thousand kilometers away, and get a response in the same minute. A lot of us take it for granted; I know I certainly do. So technically, the fact that I have issues with time difference is more a blessing than a curse.
Although sometimes I still get that dreaded 6 AM phone call from a family member who forgot that I am 12 hours ahead, I am thankful for the gift of technology and my three continent calls.
I hope you enjoyed reading and see you next time!
