Stay In Contact While Away In China| 2 min read

Sometimes Google does not work well either, so it might be a good idea to create an e-mail account with one of the other providers, and have all the mail from google forwarded to it, just in case. China has cooled down a lot in the past few decades and many things have changed, but like any country it is important to respect their traditions and rules; as the saying goes, “when in Rome do as the Romans.” It is likely that throughout a trip in China the only difficulties will be getting used to the food, especially if in the spicy Sichuan area, so there is nothing to worry about.

Though Youtube doesn’t work in China there is a Chinese substitute called Youku. If you enjoy uploading videos of your adventures or fun activities it is very easy to create an account, and after uploading a video you can send the link to your friends and family to watch. In the absence of facebook you can use Dropbox to put all your photos. Dropbox gives you 2.5 gigabits of free space and you can use the space in other peoples “boxes” who have accounts. Though it will not be as exciting as facebook it will allow those at home to see what’s going on. If you simply cannot live without facebook and youtube, there are ways to get over the great fire wall of China. Before leaving for the trip it’s a good idea to look up the best ways to do this.

If in China for more than a visit, friends and family can send packages in the mail. It is good to keep in mind that whatever is sent through the mail has the potential of never making it or partially making it. It really depends on timing and what the package contains, for instance, books and food are sometimes difficult to get from America. It will take about a month or two for a box to arrive in China and about a week or two to get a letter. So if someone is sending something for a specific time it’s good to plan ahead, or the trip will be ending, before the package arrives.