Changes

As we think about re-entering the US in 4 months, we have been reflecting on all that has changed in the realm of technology since we´ve been away. When we left:

-Texting was an expensive and seldom-used form of communication

-No one we knew accessed the internet from the palm of their hand

-Books were made of paper

-No one we knew had Facebook

-Twitter did not exist

-Churches had websites, maybe . . . if they did, they were generally poorly-designed and seldom-accessed

-Starting a blog felt like something new and cutting-edge

Here in Nicaragua, things are different:

-Many people have cell phones, but few have minutes to use them. Very occasionally I receive text messages from my internet-savvy friends who can go to the cybercafe and send texts for free from the cell website.

-Most people who access the internet do so from community internet cafés (less than $1 for 2 hours of internet time) like this one next to our house that opened 1.5 years ago. Even if the owners were not also very good friends of ours, I would gladly advertise their business. They are friendly, efficient, helpful, and keep their machines well-maintained. I love that using the internet has natural boundaries and limits for us here: we have to know exactly what we want to do and how long we will take (which makes for good time management), we expect that whatever we do will be observed by other neighbors and kids (which keeps us honest), and the internet time is bracketed by real conversations with our neighbors as we enter and leave.

-Books? (see our other posts about books and education, like the one below)

-Some people have Facebook, and many have Hi-5

-No Twitter that I have ever seen.

-Church websites: Why would you need a website when you see each other every day and have services 8 times per week?

SO, what will happen to Beth, Alan, and Simon? Will they return in their shabby, out-of-style clothes renouncing technology and begging people to put down their phones and engage them in old-fashioned real conversation on their front porch while sipping juice and sitting in rocking chairs? Stay tuned to find out . . . (ironically, through facebook and our blog :)).