Keeping in Touch

I have been thinking lately about how different the implication of living far away from friends and family is today from what it was a hundred years ago. When immigrants came to North America, they did this with the knowledge that they would likely never see their home country or those friends and family who remained there again. Occasional letters were the only attachment to their loved ones for the rest of their lives. Fast forward to today, where we can hop on an airplane and be across the globe in a matter of hours (of course, it is not that easy cost-wise). We can communicate daily via the phone, e-mail, and msn, and with technology like Skype and web-cams we can actually see the person we are talking with. It makes the distance seem less so. My friend has been teaching in Taiwan for the past two years, and she recently came home to Canada for a few weeks. Alas, I did not get to see her as plans did not work out. I was disappointed, yet it didn't seem like that big a deal. Why? Because we talk on the phone about once a month, e-mail each other, and she keeps me posted on her blog. So even though we have not seen each other face to face for some time, I still feel very much connected with her and involved in her life. Even though some people say technology is detrimental to relationships, I say that when used properly and effectively it can actually maintain relationships and help them further develop.