Yesterday we witnessed our own small Christmas miracle when we video chatted (through FaceTime) with my husband's family in China. Small potatoes? Not to us.
We've tried to video chat with my mother-in-law and her family since before my son was born--three years--with no success. We've tried AOL, Skype, and AIM, Chinese computers and computers purchased in the United States, but each time faced a breakdown of technology, insurmountable user error, or just plain bad luck: no internet connection.
Enter the iPad. When my mother-in-law visited this year we gave her a refurbished iPad. To my surprise, she was sending email and chatting with her relatives in Germany via FaceTime within two hours of receiving the gift. Soon after, she returned to China, and we tried to video chat, but could not connect due to a poor internet connection. Sigh.
I thought all was lost until yesterday morning when we were able to connect for the first time with my mother-in-law, her sister, and her sister's family. Yeah! We had not seen many of these people for more than two years. Children had grown, and elders had aged. We spoke Chinese and English, and laughed with each other.
I have big hopes for this little piece of technology in 2012. I hope that it will help my kids stay connected with their Nainai for as long as she stays in China, and that it will help them build relationships with their other Chinese family members who we only see every three years. Little piece of technology...big hopes!
Merry Christmas!
(This is not a shameless promo for Apple or any of their products, but an honest-to-goodness story of how the iPad helped a family in the United States connect with their relatives in China on Christmas Day.)
We've tried to video chat with my mother-in-law and her family since before my son was born--three years--with no success. We've tried AOL, Skype, and AIM, Chinese computers and computers purchased in the United States, but each time faced a breakdown of technology, insurmountable user error, or just plain bad luck: no internet connection.
Enter the iPad. When my mother-in-law visited this year we gave her a refurbished iPad. To my surprise, she was sending email and chatting with her relatives in Germany via FaceTime within two hours of receiving the gift. Soon after, she returned to China, and we tried to video chat, but could not connect due to a poor internet connection. Sigh.
I thought all was lost until yesterday morning when we were able to connect for the first time with my mother-in-law, her sister, and her sister's family. Yeah! We had not seen many of these people for more than two years. Children had grown, and elders had aged. We spoke Chinese and English, and laughed with each other.
I have big hopes for this little piece of technology in 2012. I hope that it will help my kids stay connected with their Nainai for as long as she stays in China, and that it will help them build relationships with their other Chinese family members who we only see every three years. Little piece of technology...big hopes!
Merry Christmas!
(This is not a shameless promo for Apple or any of their products, but an honest-to-goodness story of how the iPad helped a family in the United States connect with their relatives in China on Christmas Day.)
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