While studying abroad, especially when participating in a highly intensive program, it can be difficult to keep in touch with your loved ones. Because of the many activities, classes, and homework to be done each day, it can be hard to set aside time to call and text your friends and family consistently, or at least it has been that way for me.
One way I thought of as a way to keep in touch with my friends was to create a Google Photos album and share it via email or link to my loved ones. By using the Google Photos app, the album not only allows me to upload fun photos and videos for my friends and family to view collectively, but also allows for interaction between my friends and me online. Sweetening the deal is that this method does not require any extra payments or even require that others download the app as my album can also be viewed as a website. After a long day, I am able to save some time by uploading my photos and videos to one app instead of sending many individual messages. This also alleviates any worries that I might accidentally forget to include a friend in my activities.
After a fun outing, or a really good meal, I upload my photos and videos along with a caption to explain the things I saw, what I did, and most importantly what I ate that day. Afterwards, my friends can react by liking specific photos as well as by leaving me comments in the album's timeline for me and everyone else in the album to see. Even though these interactions are taking place from so far away and sometimes come in after a few hours of delay because of the time difference, I also feel like I am able to immediately share my experiences with my friends and family and have genuine interactions with them very easily and tangibly through a single platform.
As you can see, I am able to see all my friends’ comments and which photos strike particular interest in them. All of this information is also saved chronologically in the comments area, so I can go back and relive my trip in order from when I arrived to when I left. I also like that I can upload both photos and videos and there is not really a limit to the number of images and videos I can upload at once, or at least I haven’t hit it yet.
Another way to keep in contact with family and friends and other important people like your teacher in Taiwan is by downloading Line and sharing your LineID with family. Because this application operates over the internet, I am able to both audio and video call my family without being charged by my phone company for international minutes. While there are many other applications to do that same that are easily available, because many places and people in Taiwan utilize Line, it is very convenient, and you’ll find yourself using it every day.
AC Study Abroad Need-Based Scholarship Recipient (sponsored by the generous support of the Taiwan Ministry of Education)
Taiwan Intensive Summer Language Program (TISLP) Participant
Tamkang University (TKU)
Taipei, Taiwan, Summer 2023