My New Best Friend - SKYPE (by Slyph)

When I first arrived in Nigeria the available modes of communication was nothing short of LIMITED. All that was available to me was the Internet, so I had to make the best us of it. And to be honest that came with its challenges, because within the first month, the number of times the internet service failed to work were too numerous to mention. My head still hurts thinking about it. Every other day I was running about the office asking for a number to call or someone to shoot because the service was just not working. The first month was trying times. We suffered days when the service simply would not work between the hours of 9am-5pm. Now one would think that those hours would have been working hours, but not for Mr. Internet. He would stroll into action anytime after 5pm, sometimes around 6pm if he was in the mood and some days he just did not even bother and would be a no show. What was even more disturbing to me, was that no one else at the mission seemed to notice or was even affected by the constant absense of the Internet and that was honestly confusing to me. I was running around like a fish out of water and everyone else was wondering what was I referring to. How do they get by, how do they exist like this??? Needless to say, as soon as I found out who the culprit was to address my Internet whoos, the two of us became immediate best friends. His number is now on my speed dial and to date we have not had a problem. I have even got the mission to upgrade to wireless. So now I am surfing the net in comfort, anywhere in the building.

But if one ever finds themselves in a situation where the Internet is their only means of communication and they are millions of miles away from home, family, friends, dog, cat and the like. I have no word of advise and trust me when I say this, because this service has been put to the test and it has passed on each and every occasion. That word and let this be the word of the day, is SKYPE...... Skype has been the saving grace of my posting experience to be honest. Because I can assure you many days the only reason I get out of bed was to communicate with loved ones via Skype to Skype Internet calls. It is the BOMB.... Better than slice bread. My world became a better place the day I discovered Skype and I tell you no lie.

Now prior to my departure from Trinidad, I had heard about Skype and that it offered the option of making free calls via the internet, however, I was in my comfort zone and everyone I needed to communicate with was at my figure tips. So I was not interested in the hype about Skype. I could not even spell the word, S-K-H-P-E. What were they referring too??? But take a girl out her comfort zone and the mad confusion begins. And she starts to scramble and search for anything that would provide her with some resemblance of normalcy in her life. That search led to SKYPE..... OH HAPPY DAY, OH HAPPY DAY and what a happy day it was.

For those of you who do not know, Skype is an Internet service that provides free Skype to Skype Internet phone calls, calls to landlines and other services are provided at a fee. They also provide a range of other services such as Instant messaging and Conference calls, however I am not trying to do a Skype Promo, so you can check out the website for further details. LOL.....

All you need to get started is a computer, preferable one outfitted with a webcam and micro phone to allow for video calls (most recommended, my favourite, yummy), Internet of course (preferably high speed, to ensure high quality reception) and to download Skype, which is free of charge. And you are OFF..... All set and ready to communicate and I assure you, there will be no regrets.

I downloaded Skype within days of my arrival in Nigeria and I have been hooked from day one. Hence my confusion in the first month when the internet simply failed to work, because a girl needs to communicate.

But now with a less interrupted Internet supply I can safely say that there is no better way to stay in touch with friends and loved ones than via Skype. It is economical, cost effective and readily available, so what more can a girl ask for when millions of miles away. Give it a try, I can guarantee you would not be disappointed.

Don't dis the hype about SKYPE....