Contact and Communication
We have a broadband Internet connection in our home and a Vonage line with unlimited calls to the U.S. While at home base you will be free to call the U.S. and use our computers, or if you bring a laptop with a network card you can hook up through our provider. One guest used his laptop to call using Skype without any problem even with two other computers online. On the road there are Internet cafes where you can get online to check email. "Hot spots" are popping up in many places where you can use wireless Internet. Some places charge for the service, others are free. I will have my laptop with me so you do not have to bring yours unless you want to.
It usually takes 10 days for regular mail to arrive. It should be sent to our address because someone will always be here to pick it up. (If we are out of town the landlord picks it up and puts it on our dining table for us.) And then if something arrives for you after you return home we can forward it to you. Here's the address to use:
Your Name
c/o Gary Miller
4026 Debrecen
Bem Ter 8. fsz. 3
Hungary
Calculated into the cost of coming is the use of a cell phone. You will have your own number, and your family and friends can contact you directly without any additional costs to you on the field, because the caller pays the entire amount. (In other words they will be charged an extra fee to cover the cell phone airtime in Europe.) Of course your time to talk will be very limited while you are on the road, but your family will be able to get in touch with you if they need to.
Prior to your leaving the States we will send your phone number to you so you can get it to family and friends. We will also send you a long list of emergency contact information. There are phone cards available on the field so that you can call the States for about 30 cents per minute from your cell phone (cheaper from landline) while you are on the road. Costs for phone calls home are not calculated into the trip costs, so they are an extra expense.
A letter from Hungary to the US is about $1.25 depending on the weight and exchange rate. Postcards cost about 75 cents to send. A trip to the post office to mail a letter is part of the orientation. So are trips to the grocery store and several other places. You will be prepared to handle a lot of the situations that will popup on your own.