<p>You can FB your parents and set them up on a limited profile so they see your wall posts, but not what other people post on your wall to allow for privacy or if you don’t want them to remain FB friends later and it would be awkward to unfriend them, then perhaps use the time difference to explain no skyping planned, but you will try it if it works out.</p>
<p>Offer to send an email several times a week either sharing a bit about what’s going on or at least confirming you are alive.</p>
<p>One of my kids has always been so uncommunicative that when she was in college, I would check her online banking to make sure she was active in normal ways as I had not heard (this was actually before Facebook). Sounds dumb, but to demand more would have cramped her style and really annoyed her, I did not want to go there. She is still naturally not overtly communicative, but she is better. It would be better for your parents to be reasonable in their expectations. If nothing you do is ever enough, you won’t ever feel like doing anything she asks.</p>
<p>Whenever either of my daughters went on study abroad semesters or shorter programs, we generally spoke on the phone at least 1x a week and emailed 2-3 times a week. If they were traveling, they usually would send a quick email to let me know that they safely arrived. It really depended on where they were and what they were doing-either an intensive 3-week Theater in London program or working in an art program for 10 weeks in France and traveling. I enjoyed coming to work in the morning and getting an email.</p>
<p>A blog is a great idea - one of my son’s friends kept a pretty active blog while abroad (his mom shared the link with me and I enjoyed following it too). You’ll be glad to have the blog in the future too. The flickr site I set up turned out to be kind of a photo blog - our family all commented on the photos and my son would answer some of the comments when he had time. Some pictures gave rise to extensive conversations/commentary. It’s fun to look back on now.</p>
<p>My daughter has been on a dialogue with her university for about a month now and will be returning soon. We skyped when we could , although the connections made it difficult at times. She communicated as often as she could , via skype , emails , texts and calls .
She tried sometimes and couldn’t get thru because of connectivity issues…I hope you mother can understand</p>
<p>My D created a Travel Blog from a template when she did study abroad, and it was fun for her, and great for me and mum. The home site to create your own is: [Travel</a> Blog - TravelPod](<a href=“http://www.travelpod.com/]Travel”>http://www.travelpod.com/)</p>
<p>She did not list personal info so she could remain anonymous to the general public, and she updated posts and pictures whenever she could, so that was less pressure on her than trying to always call and/or email, and we also didn’t have to worry about time zones as much. Of course we also tried to call her once a week just to keep in touch. </p>
<p>Bonus Surprises- I printed it off and gave it to her when she got back home - it makes a great coffee-table book. And the public view part of her posts and pics got lots of views and thumbs ups, so that was kind of fun for her too. </p>
<p>It worked for us - it might work for you too. </p>
<p>“I think a phone call or e-mail when you arrive, and then an email every couple of weeks should be fine, but I doubt your parents would agree with me…”</p>
<p>Ah, but mini you are not “most parents”! I’d like to hear more often, not because I am worried, but because I am jealous!</p>
<p>And for what it’s worth the letters and post cards I sent to my parents the year I lived in France were a great record of what I did. I’ve never been much of a journal keeper, but the weekly letters and when I was sightseeing daily postcards are fun to reread.</p>
<p>I spent a month in London when I was in college, pre-cellphones, computers, etc. I called two times; I thought my parents might like to hear from me given that there were two fatal IRA bombings close to my residence the month I was there. But no, my dad was audibly annoyed that I called. Like father, not like daughter. I like to hear from my family when they’re away.</p>
<p>our D traveled extensively throughout college and grad school- emails always worked well a few times a week, skype did not work well in a lot of countries.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the suggestions. When I get to Moscow, I’ll probably just send them an email as I don’t think calling/texting internationally is really a cost-effective solution and because it’ll be 3:30 in the morning. Also, the blog idea sounds great - I made one and am planning on writing/uploading pictures a few times a week and giving people the ability to subscribe and comment. Another thing is that this trip is a language-immersion program, so I’d like to keep the English to a minimum and my parents tend to want to Skype for an hour or an hour and a half…ha.</p>
<p>My D thought that she’d write a blog about her semester abroad. No time…hopefully, you’ll be better. I’d put a time limit on the skype if your parents are the type to go on and on. Tell them that you can’t tie up the internet any longer than XX minutes to be polite to your host family.</p>
<p>The amount of time available for internet is something you can’t predict. My D is working on farms in Europe right now, and did not want to take her laptop, for fear of loosing it, and to stay away from the computer and on task with the language and experience. At her current farm, the family has the equivalent of dial up, and she only has time for quick email checks, and is not sending any. I miss her, and am glad for her. Blogs are great, as they take care of many people at once, and are a great thing to keep for the future. </p>
<p>You mentioned texts, with my provider, international texts are about 50 cents each. Cell calls, astronomical. Land line to land line, with a phone card, depending on the country, sometimes reasonable. </p>
<p>As a former host parent for international students, I’d not be pleased with that sort of time obligation to at home parents, as it does distract from the experience.</p>
<p>travel blog worked great for my dd when she was junior, studying abroad in china several years ago in beijing. it allowed her to share pictures, videos and journal entries, along with mapping her travels. great visuals and she could share her experiences with others. looks like you can setup email notifications for new posts and journal sticks around even after your return: [Travel</a> Blog - TravelPod](<a href=“http://www.travelpod.com/]Travel”>http://www.travelpod.com/). blog is free but open to view/search by anyone. to get privacy settings, you need to pay $40 annual fee. </p>
<p>don’t recall my daughter paying for blog and wasn’t a problem being open to all. she was traveling with 2 college classmates and in established program, so i didn’t worry too much about what and where she was going. it was great to get email notifications whenever she posted to blog and pictures brought each entry to life. felt like i was traveling with her and seeing things from her eyes.</p>
<p>now she’s back in china after graduating - this time for entire year - studying and doing research. she’s using wordpress.org as her blog - it’s free and built by community volunteers. it’s got email notifications and lots of ways to customize look and feel for pages. really look forward to seeing those emails whenever she posts - we might have talked using emails or skype sessions. but it’s a treat to see it in journal format with great pics.</p>
<p>dd was always a good writer and journal keeper - so works for her. but you don’t need to be a prolific writer - just upload pictures, add good comments, and let the visuals tell the story.</p>
<p>we never had a “regular” time to email or skype and she travels to some remote areas in china occasionally. but when i haven’t heard from her in about a week or so, i send a “hello” ping…she probably realizes that i’m worried and need to know that she’s ok. if she has wifi (which is pretty prevalent in china), she’ll send an email or skype from her itouch and my heart will stop pounding.</p>
<p>being far away is tough…but it’s amazing how connected the world really is. our family trekked in remote mountain area close to tibet when visiting her early this year. there were guest houses with wifi nearby. we pulled out the handy iphone (phone network use disabled)/itouch to connect to the world!</p>
<p>My D is spending 7wks in Jordan this summer…Id love for her to call everyday but I know this is unrealistic. She is currently in pre-departure orientation and they are extremely busy. I asked her to call in the mornings and/or evenings while state side. Once she leaves I know I will probably hear from her MAYBE 1-2 a week. She can email and I will check FB to keep up with how she is doing. I totally understand why you parents want you to call…my daughter is my ONLY child…I dont want to crowd her or be overbearing, however letting go can be difficult…</p>