A message to all parents of gappers...


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May 28th 2011
Published: May 29th 2011
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I just wanted to let all parents of gappers know that it is actually harder than one thinks keeping in touch with home. I had no idea. When you are travelling the days pass quickly, the new countries and the new experiences come thick and fast and they don't allow alot of spare time. You are negotiating the language, finding a room/campsite to stay in, sorting out food and on top of this trying to 'see the sights'. All this is, of course, wonderful - it is what you wanted - the smells, sights and customs of somewhere new and exciting but...

Whilst family 'back home' wait patiently (and perhaps in some cases not so patiently) for news, the 'gapper' is probably (hopefully) occasionally trying to find an internet connection or a cafe that doesn't charge a complete fortune. Well, this ol' gapper hasn't found it that easy and my last blog was written two days ago but not posted until today due to lack of internet facilities (and we are only in Italy!).

So, what am I trying to say? Well, for one I would like to thank our two eldest boys, my two wonderful sons, who have travelled much more than I and who have always managed to keep me informed along the way with descriptive and reassuring emails. THANK YOU boys 😊 And secondly, to all family 'back home', there is no excuse for non communication from the gapper but, when it happens, remember to really appreciate it, savour it and record it for prosterity.

Bye for now x

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1st June 2011

Brilliant!!!
I have been saying this for ages! Very sound words! At 18, when I first ventured off to far off lands, I had told my parents that I would ring them when I could and I wasn't sure when that might be. My travelling companion was foolish enough to promise a specific time to parents, it was a total nightmare, the stress level was high and we almost had a huge fight before our first night of our 6 month adventure!!! Only later did I realise what a wise 18 year old I actually seemed to be! Of course things now have become easier with internet, back in the early 90s on that first trip, we would write and make some calls and we would go to big main post offices to the poste restante section and collect letters that would be waiting for us! It was magical, I remember those incredible moments to this day! You had this snippet of information from home, you could read and cherish! Obviously the internet makes things easier but there is a little magic lost. You do of course stay in touch with many more people with the internet than when you relied on the postal service! One thing I noticed is that the more the place is industrialised or modern or, well I'm not quite sure of the word I am looking for. But if you go to, say India, there are many more internet cafes that somewhere in Europe where there are many more internet places than the States. In NY, I really struggled finding internet access (the library!) I presume it's because the richer the country, the more likely it is for people to have internet at home, that is my best theory!

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