Yesterday, I went into a well-known coffee shop, eagerly ready to get my daily caffeine fix for my work day. While impatiently waiting my turn in line, I gazed across the room.
Since the coffee shop was directly downtown, it was no surprise to see backpackers and tourists from around the globe. Some had iPads or tablets out, while others were sitting on couches or armchairs, curled up with their computers.
It was then that I started to realize just how small the world had become over the past decade and a half and how this change had affected my life abroad.
I'm not one to tell the young kids how much rougher I had it when I was their age, or how much better life was way back when, and this article won't be any different. I marvel at what technology has done for me as an expat.
When I first began living in Germany, my only lifelines at home were my telephone and laptop. It doesn't sound all that bad, and it wasn't.
Of course, my computer was running Windows 95 and had a 56k modem hook-up, and my telephone was my landline, which was extremely expensive to use when calling home. The worst part of the conditions, and maybe for some, the best part, was the distance.
The purest of travelers may argue that you can't truly respect a foreign culture until you completely immerse yourself in it. I agree to an extent, but family and friends are still essential parts of our lives, and communication was severely limited back then.
Fast-forward to today. My once-a-week phone calls home have been replaced by Skype, Messenger, and FaceTime sessions.
No time for long emails (especially half-written emails that suddenly disappear when the internet goes out)? No problem. I can tweet a short message and let everyone back home know what I'm doing.
Even better, I can sit down and play Xbox Live with my brother when I need to catch up with him. We rock Modern Warfare.
All those nights reading Goethe and Schiller in the beginning, you ask?
No more, my friends, for I now can comfortably sit at home and watch my favorite TV series and movies every night…and in English, no less. Game of Thrones, anyone?
Technology is undoubtedly a plus when keeping up with family and friends, and certain things can be said about increasing safety.
I'd also be remiss to leave out how Google Maps has helped me on several occasions when finding my way around unfamiliar territory. Yet, I'm still unsure about all those other fringe benefits.
I think it's a lot like going into that McDonald's in Cairo - you told yourself you would never go in there, but it sure is tempting [Editor's Note: guilty as charged]. More importantly, it might not even be good, but at least you know what you are getting (comfort and certain satisfaction).
So, as the world grows smaller, travelers and expats alike face the challenge of achieving a precarious balance. Some might say we must balance who we are and what we hope to become. I don't have the answers; I take the easy way out and pose the questions.
But I struggle with the answers too, and occasionally wonder if I should stay up till 4 am to watch the Super Bowl? After 15 years abroad, it's still hard to say no.
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