Keeping families closer through the internet

As I was thinking of a topic for our class blog, I remembered I had to upload our latest family pictures to my father’s email. He sent me a message through yahoo messenger yesterday telling me how excited he was to see his apo holding the award he received from school. Then I realized how important the internet has been for our family.

My father has been living abroad for some ten years now, coming home every other year or so. All my siblings have also been living abroad as far as I can remember. The last time I saw two of my siblings was when I was 2 years old. I couldn’t even remember how they look like.

The only means of communication we had ever since was the telephone. Way back in the province, around 10 years ago, my mom and I had to travel an hour or so to the city just so we could use a public phone and call our relatives abroad. I remember I had to wait for two long weeks before my father could read the letter I sent him through mail.

Now, we just have to set a time when we all are available so we can open a chat room. One time, we were all using webcams – me, my dad, my 2 brothers, my sister, and their respective families. It was such a great experience, it was like having a family reunion online. Thanks to the internet, we can now talk to each other almost everyday.