Wanderlust often comes hand in hand with a constant desire to get away, as well as the slight loneliness of being away from your stable life. It is inevitable that you will begin to miss the people back home, and the people you have met on your travels. Often times your relationships are transitory because you are always on the move. When you finally go home, or back to a place you haven’t been to in awhile, it’s a great feeling; however like most other wanderers the desire to pick up and go is too great and you will soon be back to traveling.
Missing home and your friends and family is a natural part of being on the road. If you figure out a way to keep in contact with them, it will make your experience easier and more enjoyable. It’s so easy to do now. All you have to do is find an internet connection and you are on your way to contacting all the people you left behind.
Skype and Google Voice have made traveling and keeping in contact with loved ones much easier. They are inexpensive to use. Google Voice requires an invitation, although you can ask for one on their website. Gizmocall.com is another company that is striving to make communication easier and less expensive. Gizmocall.com requires a computer or web-enabled phone. A San Diego based company called Voxox also offers a service for communicating abroad. You use your local phone to send a text message through Voxox to the phone you want to call abroad. Seconds later you get a call and you are connected!
There is a pending lawsuit between the founder of Skype and its new owner, Ebay. Apparently Ebay bought the license for Skype, but for whatever reason they did not buy the code that allows the Skype program to run. Now they are running into some legal trouble, and may have to change the system entirely. The future of Skype may be uncertain, however many more communication companies are coming out, leaving many options for travelers to contact those back home.
Some travel because they want to completely absorb themselves in their new surroundings. Many believe that in order to truly experience a place, you mustn’t be so attached to those back home, however the distance inevitably becomes a problem for those of us who travel a lot, or travel long term. We may want an authentic travel experience, but we also want to keep in touch with the people we love.
