Being in Korea, I am often asked how I keep in touch with my family in the United States. But, honestly, I try to keep in touch with many other things in addition to my family—from other blogs to friends, from Major League Baseball to extended family. I try to keep in touch with everything as I would if I were back in the states. I do this through several layers on connectivity.
The first layer of my connectivity is my internet connection. There is, on post, a company that provides internet through an in-room modem that I signed up for early on. This is my main means for getting online. Through this connection, I use Skype to video-chat with my family (about once a week) and, of course, this is how I blog and surf the web. Through my PlayStation 4, I also connect to online gaming through PlayStation Plus. Also through this connection, I stream Netflix and MLB.tv in my PlayStation and will listen to Spotify when I want to listen to music. So, yes, this is my primary means of communication and keeping up with world.
This brings me to my second layer of communications, which is through my iPhone. First of all, there are many times that I use my iPhone as a regular telephone. I simply use the Wi-Fi from the internet connection to establish an online connection and use the Skype app to talk on the phone—whether I am calling my wife, who also has a Skype account (which makes it a free call), or if I am calling a landline through the app, which costs a small-but acceptable fee. The cool thing about my cell phone carrier, T-Mobile, is that they provide me 2G internet and free texting here in Korea, even though the account is in the states. This gives me enough power to make a Skype phone call, but not enough to video or have much access to the web. I can upload photos through this connection, as I post an Instagram photo daily. This little gift from T-mobile has allowed me to stay very connected without having to purchase a Korean cell phone and contract. The truth of the matter is, however, most of the people I call, go to bed after about 11 or 12 in the morning my time. So, typically, I still use the Wi-Fi connection in my room, even though the 2G service is available.
A third and final layer of my communications is what the Army provides. The Army provides free AFN—which is the Armed Forces Network, which provides the Soldiers access to US television. This is connected through my TV and provides news, sports, and entertainment. The best feature for me is the live sports, because otherwise I would not see any of the games in the states, unless it is baseball. In addition, the Army provides me with a cell phone because of my position as a Chaplain. This is only for official business, but who else would I call in Korea? And for what other reason? This comes in handy because my boss and other people who need to talk to me can catch up to me. However, more than not, most of my communication occurs by text anyway through my iPhone.
This is my set up for communicating with the world. It is not a glamorous layout, but certainly gets the job done.