Tech Talk

So there's obviously a whole lot of adjustments involved when switching countries. Some are just funny - like dollar bills getting replaced by little gold coins. Some are dangerous - like driving on the other side of the road and perpetually hitting your windshield wipers rather than your blinkers. Others are inconvenient - like having to buy all new small appliances for the different outlets. And others are just frustrating - like the internet being strangely different.

You'd think the internet's universal, right? Not exactly. We can't use a bunch of favorite sites that we'd really enjoyed, like hulu, pandora, and netflix streaming. Boo. Also, phones. We couldn't unlock my iphone here and had to purchase new, darn it. (However, I am loving the upgrade to front/back cameras to use Skype anywhere or instantly track each other, or find a lost phone, with the iphone find app.) Amid all this though, I've just gotta give a shout out to Ooma phone systems. On a whim, we took our old Ooma set up we were using in Salt Lake just to see if it would work here (since it connects via the internet.) Lo and behold, we plugged it in and VOILA, crystal-clear, free, international calling using our same Salt Lake telephone number. Yes, we've had a few 3am random playdate requests from old friends that had been out of the loop, but man, I can't even call internationally with my cell phone but I've got my mom calling me clear as day on my Ooma phone. So, feel free to call (19 hours ahead, remember!) Or if you've got a computer camera, skype is a fantastic way to keep in touch, especially for little ones who benefit from face-to-face communication.

Also, the technological advances at school are impressive. Every school we visited had Smart Screens in each classroom, media/computer literacy instruction and our school is even raising money for ipads for student use. Our kids are already addicted to their math homework, which they do through an internet program called Mathletics. They can even race/test against students across the world, which opens up a whole new realm of motivation for our most competetive child.

One thing I'm not so pleased with however, is the tv ratings system here or lack thereof. We've never had cable, but I'm pretty sure this is beyond that. Once it hits 9pm, just watch out is all I'm sayin. I've seen way more than I'd deem appropriate for any age simply flipping through the channels in the evening, not to mention the language they let fly on the air. But I've also happened upon some great old episodes of the Love Boat, Touched By An Angel and Seventh Heaven during the day so... lesson learned.