<p>If you plan on using skype, invest in a good microphone...I've been using the built in microphone on my laptop and it is incredibly echo-y and apparently everyone who speaks to me hears loud noises in the background. </p>
<p>With skype, you can either use the free service, which is kind of a pain because you have to arrange a time when you will both be on the computer, or you can use skype out, where you put money in an account and then pay about 1 cent a minute, plus a tiny connection fee to call a normal phone, be it a cell phone or a home phone. My sound quality problems with skype were so bad though that i was unable to have decent conversations, but no one else seems to have this problem. By the way, skype is a voip (voice over internet provider, i think it stands for), but there are others...you can use yahoo, for example, which is terrible and i would never recommend. Basically, voip's offer two types of services...the kind i already mentioned (skype-out style), or you can buy a phone number local to your home area so that when your friends call you it is a local call for them. your computer "rings" when they call you (the one i tried was called yahoo voice-in)</p>
<p>My mother is on a phone plan where it is 6 cents a minute to make international calls, and as long as you don't spend too much time on the phone, this can be pretty economic...so she just calls me on my (Swiss) cellphone number.</p>
<p>If you are in a host family it is possible that they will have a phone plan conducive to international calling. My host family has a plan where it is free to call any fixed phone anywhere in the world, but i always feel awkward using their phone...</p>
<p>Phone cards are another good option. basically, you buy a card, call like a 1-800 type number, and then they connect you through. It's sort of hard to actually figure out how much they charge you per minute, but I would say it is marginally more expensive than skype...about 2 cents a minute? In my country, you can buy phone cards at the post office, and then recharge them when you run out of money. For me, the superior sound quality and the flexibility of phone cards make them a better choice than skype, and sometimes you can get free bonus credit for recharging.</p>
<p>i don't know much about international cell phone plans, other than that they exist...i read in the new york times that there is a cell phone provider that works in the "yahoo voice-in" style where you can ask for up to 40 local numbers for your cell. otherwise, avoid using your cell phone for international calls, as it can cost up to $1 a minute.</p>
<p>so, in my opinion, best to worst (if you plan on calling a lot):
-cheap "normal" phone services, like an international cell plan, an international home phone plan for your parents, even an international home phone plan for you in hong kong (simply because they are easy to use and will offer the best sound quality)
-phone cards (good sound quality, pretty cheap)
-skype and other voip's...call-out options (like skype out) tend to work better for me than call-in (like yahoo voice-in) options. (cheapest or free, mediocre to bad sound quality)</p>
<p>If you are only occasionally going to call home though, then i would say skype would be sufficient.
Happy calling!</p>