When you have to plan to live as I am living now—an indefinite amount of time that is sure to be enough to go through the stages of culture shock, but you pray doesn’t last long enough that the day comes where you think of renting apartments, buying expensive machines, all of which would be a loss should immigration call you back at some unexpected moment. You just never know.
I, for example, know I don’t want to live another three months in a house with so many people. In all reality, I don’t want to live in anybody’s house for another three months. When Pastor Cristiano talked about not living with others or inviting others to live with us during our premarital counseling, I could not have envisioned the disaster it causes on relationships and even on Audrey. It’s not a destructive hurricane, but it is a tropical storm. Now, to clarify, these feelings are not anybody’s fault. I’ve talked things over with Marli (if you don’t remember her name coming up, she’s my sister-in-law who lives in Brasilia), and it’s natural to feel this way. The Bible, from the very beginning, says that man and woman would, for the reason of marriage, leave his parents and cleave to his/her spouse.
Other things I don’t want to live much longer without are things that are simply not practical to cart here and there—non-stick pans, Philadelphia cream cheese and the cooking cream, variety of food in general, potato peeler (which I could and probably will bring with me next time), my Ninja food processor/blender, etc. Audrey loves toys and has only one; she doesn’t even have a doll or stuffed animal here (partially my fault for not packing one in a suitcase before Cesar got to them and put them in who knows which box).
Now, some words of wisdom for traveling with children: invest in an unblocked international phone (I hope to replace my current iPhone which Cesar just sold with an unblocked one). Even if pre-paid plans are not available for iPhones in the USA, pre-paid is pretty popular in Brazil. With an unblocked phone, you can trade out the chip with a local one and keep in contact locally and use the Skype app to call others with Skype FOR FREE. These are all potential things that I have not tried in a definite way yet, but that should work. I HAVE confirmed that Apple DOES indeed sell unblocked iPhones on their website. Trust me if you don’t believe the price is worth buying without a plan—the fine for breaking contract plus what they charge above that and the minutes you use trying it out is MORE than you would pay if you just buy the unblocked version in the first place. The main benefit of getting one with a plan is if you are traveling for a short period of time and like the plans on Verizon or AT&T to begin with. I am currently a BoostMobile fan, but am looking for a GSM network alternative for the iPhone I’ll have while in the States (or so Cesar says…. We plan on getting one here already unlocked with a local plan. He said that was the reason he sold mine, so…).
EVEN when the iPhone network doesn’t work, you can sync it to your iTunes and buy apps (Tv shows, movies, etc.) on iTunes no matter where you are. What this means for those of us with kids is hours of entertainment—books, movies, the talking cat and dog apps, animal sounds apps, art work—all in one pcket-sized piece of technology.
Now, question for you tech-saavy and/or experienced gurus—is there an alternative to the iPhone that will accept iTunes downloads, apps, but also carries android apps and the flexibility of non-exclusivity of NOT being Apple? I’m not a huge Apple fan and would be glad to find a phone that is as good (if not better) than the iPhone with greater traveling flexibility. I know the technology is out there, but does it all line up?