When this blog post is scheduled to post, I will be in an airplane flying to South Korea for my next assignment. The family will remain in the United States, as I work there for a year. The interesting challenge that I anticipate is the difference in time zones.
My Mother and Father both have told me about the challenge of communicating during his tours in South Korea and Vietnam in the 1960s and 1970s. They have talked about his letters and I have been able to hear some of the audio tapes that he sent back and forth to give both sides a taste of what life was like where the other one was.
Technology has changed drastically since those days. I will be able to see and talk to the family through internet applications such as Skype and Facetime. The biggest problem, however, is the time change. South Korea is about 14 hours ahead of the family in South Korea. This difference is enough to throw a wrench in the expectation of communicating easily. The family will be waking up while I am going to bed. The family will be going to bed when I am headed into work. We will get it right but it will be an interesting challenge as we seek to communicate on opposite ends of the world. Thankfully, we do have these devices along with social media which will provide instant photos of life in the states as we live our next year apart.