I'm not entirely sure this one counts as one of the "self portraits", but it totally reflects an important part of my family life, and why I'm a strong supporter of giving whomever created skype a nobel peace prize.
I don't travel too often, but when I do it tends to be for longer periods, and being able to see them, more importantly, being able to be seen by them, I think makes a world of a difference.
I still remember growing up the biannual calls to grandma: one for her birthday one for christmas. They were short and loud. My grandma still screams at the phone.
If you are an aid worker, (although I am sure it applies to many other professions), skype is almost another family member.
4 comments:
I consider skype also as my companion when I'm away from my family because of work. I always longed for my family the same as them, and that's why skype is important. While it can't replace being with your family physically, it's a big help to just feel closer to them.:-)
I heartily second your nomination of the creators of Skype for a Nobel prize. It certainly has changed the quality of relationships, and the possibilities for relatedness, for expats everywhere. In 1995, soon after graduating from college, I moved to the Philippines to volunteer with a community development organization. Email access was extremely limited, long distance phone calls were extremely expensive, and something like Skype sounded, at the time, like an idea from the Jetsons. Nine years later, I moved back to the Philippines, and discovered Skype. This time around, my expat experience is very different. Skype has not only helped me nurture key relationships with family and friends, but has boosted my career and the impact of my work. As a career coach who works with aid professionals who want to have careers they love, that make an impact, and allow them to have a life outside of work, Skype has enabled me to work with clients anywhere in the world.
Being a grandma who lives away from those very important little ones, skype also makes a world of difference!!
Skype is an absolute godsend for us - with one or other of us travelling it lets the children stay in touch and seems to minimise the separation worries
Its also great for us because it means we get to stay in closer touch with family - I guess we only came into it because with my parents being expats Skype was a great tool to stay in touch, even now they're back in the UK we use it
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