Interview Story

For this blog I interviewed Maggie, a student from Canada, on how she stays connected to her friends and family in Canada. One of the most important questions I asked her was her favorite method of communication with her family - to my surprise she said something I did not even consider! Email! Despite the distance away from her family, Maggie was excited to study at UNCG and didnt spend time researching how to stay connected. Rather she spent time researching the University majors instead.

Check out more of what Maggie had to say below!

Keeping in contact with those you DONT want on your social media sites

There may be some of you who wish to communicate with others in a more formal fashion than social media, cell phone apps, or Skype. For example, I was close with a lot of coworkers before I left to study abroad, but I was not comfortable adding my coworkers (or bosses) to any of my social media sites, let alone video call them. The same goes for my professors.  Whatever the circumstances, there are other methods of keeping these people up to date on your excursions. I recommend starting a blog. Blogs are great way to briefly update people on what you have been up to and still maintain a sense of personal privacy.  You can add pictures (appropriate ones of course >.< ) to the blog as well.

Facebook/Twitter

Social Media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are great ways to communicate with people back home. Both sites allow you to constantly update those back at home on your travels. Facebook offers not only instant messaging but video calls similar to skype. If you are using a data only cell phone, the Facebook messenger app (examples shown)  is a great way to communicate with local study abroad students and/or people back home. More information can be found in the links the to right about how to use Facebook abroad. 

The Most Important Key to Staying Connected, and Saving Money using Mobile Internet

It’s called Wifi.

Wifi will be your best friend abroad and it is extremely important to always remember to connect to free wifi whenever you can.  It will save you so much money and will prevent using data abroad.  Before going abroad take some time to research where you can access free wifi in the country you are going to.  Areas that offer free wifi in the United States may not necessarily offer wifi abroad. Japan for example, did not offer free wifi at McDonalds and only a few Starbucks offered free wifi. Airports or train stations are very likely areas to offer free wifi.  The university will generally have wifi as well for its students. Be sure to turn your data roaming off!

Cell Phones Abroad

Many of you may be wondering if bringing a cell phone is the best option for you when studying abroad. I highly recommend a cell phone but if you are like me, and don’t want to pay for international calling on my plan, there are other alternatives to consider.  The first thing to consider is whether or not your current cell phone is capable to being used abroad. If it is locked, look into unlocking it or if you have an upgrade, look for one that is already unlocked. This way you can use a SIM card abroad. When looking for a SIM card, try looking for a data only plan in the country that you are studying abroad in.  This way you can rely on mobile internet to communicate with others instead of a signing a contract.  I paid roughly 14 dollars a month for 2 GB of data on a data only SIM card in Japan off of Amazon.jp (it was a pay per month SIM card).  85% of the time I used wifi to prevent going over my monthly data allowance but it was very nice to have a backup way to communicate with others when I was not in an area with WIFI. 

  Of course some people prefer a phone plan regardless in case of emergencies, but most companies require a yearlong contract. This may be preferable for yearlong study abroad students.  For those of you studying abroad for half a year, I highly encourage you to consider data plans coupled with apps that will allow you to make phone calls. Make sure to do extensive research and consider all your options before leaving! I would also recommend not canceling or putting your current service on hold until AFTER you arrive abroad and have an alternative solution ready to go.