I have moved thousands of miles away from my home town of Hayward, California. The distance as well as the latest technology advances have really changed the way in which I communicate with my friends and family from back home. Here is a google map to represent my move. A picture really does represent 100 words.
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| 3, 175 miles from Hayward,Ca to Cambridge, Ma |
Despite the distance, my family and I have taken to communicate through the use of technology, specifically FaceTime (Apple Plug here). My brother and I both have the latest iPhones and my father, who is pretty tech-savy, knows how to skype and email with us. But the real star of this trans national family love story is my mother.
One major benefit that has come out of this distance is my mother's interest in technology. She has never used a computer. She is a dental assistant and spends her days conversing and aiding patients or using dental instruments. It's safe to say that technology is a pretty recent phenomenon for her. So, this post is dedicated to my mom, with love and respect to her growing interest around technology as it is growing her communication with her kids. My mom is now writing emails, has her very own iPad and has learned to text (hilarious mom texts to come at the end of the this post).
This is how I found out my mother had an Ipad:
Hi mija how can I che
Your blog.? I like my new I pod,,
Sent from my iPad
*Note her signature states "sent from my iPad"
My mom has even begun to text me while I am in class. Most of the texts say hello or good morning. One challenge about this latest burst in technology use is that when I get out of class, I now have two missed calls, a voice mail, an email and a text message. With so many outlets, my first response is to think there must be an emergency. No, they are all to say hello. She is incredibly persistent.
Another challenge is the cell phone/email auto-correct function. It's definitely having fun in our conversations as well. Another layer is that fact that my mother and I are bilingual and often speak Spanglish to one another. So texts often get misinterpreted...And by often, I mean OFTEN.
Here is me asking my mother if she will be attending my cousin Isaac's birthday party:
Here is a text conversation about what we are having for dinner: "Begged" means veggies.
I too fall victim to cell phone's autocorrect:
Here is my mother sending me information about my student health insurance coverage that was sent to Hayward instead of Cambridge the week school started.
And yes, I understand exactly what she means despite the grammar and auto-corrects. We now have a new way of communicating and it makes the distance feel not as distant.
My favorite conversations take place Saturday mornings. My parents wake up and FaceTime with me from their bedroom as I converse back over breakfast or lunch from my living room couch. Yesterday, I was FaceTiming with them and Edgar, my younger brother who is also away for college, called my parents home telephone and joined our conversation over speaker. His FaceTime appointment was after mine.
We are becoming a 21st century family. And the distance doesn't really seem that far. Here is to hoping you get to connect with a loved one today.
Happy December!
