What is the best way to

[sigafoos]

My DD will be going to Australia for a semester abroad next year and I'm wondering what is the best way to keep in touch? She will have internet access with her computer but I will need to hear her voice sometimes Are there affordable international cell phones or is a phone card the best way? I have never had a reason to call any one that far away. She will be gone for 4 months and it already brings me to tears to think about it. At the same time I'm very excited for her. Any suggestions from my DIS friends?
Kim

 

[helenabear]

Kim, I can't be entirely certain as I have never called Australia before, but I did a quick search and it looks like a calling card would be the cheapest. I know from my brother's travels that international cell calling is very very expensive (up to $2/minute from the Caribbean). One calling card I use a lot for international calls is my Sam's Club card. I think I pay about $7/minute there. Good luck shopping around and best of luck to your DD

 

[MacGyverTDS]

If you both will have internet access, you could try NetMeeting. I use it to communicate with family in MA, it's great to hear their voices!
We also use our video cam (and microphone) to see and talk to other family members out of state.
With both you are only paying for your normal internet connection costs.

We picked up the video cams at our local Sam's club they were packaged 2 together so we were able to leave one behind with family and kept the other here. I don't believe they were too pricey. But, hey, sometimes it's worth the expense to keep in touch!

Judy

 

[angie'smom]

HI, my younger daughter, Paula, went to Australia for a semester about a year ago and we kept in touch through phone cards. I bought one at Sam's for her and I also bought one for me. If I called her the difference was 3 minutes for one in the states. When she called me, the difference was 4 minutes for every one minute used if I had called within the United States. I usually called her about once a week. My husband figured out the time difference and I would usually call her in the morning on either Saturday or Sunday morning. I mean it was in the morning for her, not for me. It wasn't very expensive this way, especially since the phone cards were fairly inexpensive.
Harriet

 

[sigafoos]

Thanks everyone It helps to hear ideas from others!
angie'smom,
Did your dd enjoy her time in Australia? Where did she go, Im excited for dd to go but a bit nervous also. She will be going to Sydney through AIFS. She will be at Maquarrie University.
Kim

 

[angie'smom]

Hi, my daughter went to the University of Queensland, in Brisbain(sp). As I get older, my spelling gets worse! Well, anyways, she wasn't crazy about the school. She doesn't do well in classes that only ask for one large paper, maybe a project and then a final. The final was about 70% of the grade in each class. Also, I got a phone call one night really late at night from the dorm lady. She said that a girl in Paula's dorm said that Paula was stalking her! I told the lady that Paula doesn't stalk people! It turned out that after I spoke to Paula and she told me that she was lonely. She was in the hall kind of just hanging around and where she was standing must have been in front of the girl's room. She is a very quiet girl and it takes her a while to open up to strangers and make friends. This dorm lady asked me to help her out. I suggested that she get the two girls together and discuss what was going on, but she wouldn't do it because she didn't want Paula to know who went over to her (the lady). I got another call from this lady and she told me that everything was fine.Nothing was really resolved. When I told Paula about this, she said that she was not walking through the wing of the dorm where the girl probably lived and that is why the lady thought everything was okay. By-the-way, this girl was also an American exchange student. She got along fine with the Australian girls. I think the dorm should have fired the lady who was hired to take care of any problems. She did a terrible job. My daughter was never really happy there after that. She did enjoy the first week during orientation and the 2 times she went on mini-vacations to Sydney and Cairnes.
Harriet

 

[Gail T AGAIN]

When I went to Australia I used a calling card to keep in touch with my dad and went to an internet cafe to talk with my friends back hom ein the US. the calling card wasn't bad at all. One night I had to call collect and whoa baby talk about a big bill and we didn't even talk a long time.