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Q: How often do you touch base with family?
When I first got here, I was in touch with my family a lot, but I just realised that two weeks have gone by and I haven't contacted them at all. It's pretty easy to just sink into your bubble here and forget about life back home. How often do you guys contact your families back home?
Mine are all dead save one sister.
Keep the contact, tell those who are important to you those "touchy-feely" things that you never seem to find the right time to say.
You just never know when the last time you talk to them will be the "last" time you talk to them.
Not meaning to be a downer...just that it does become easy to put off contacting your family and loved ones (time difference, nothing to say, busy, busy, busy, etc.) until one day...it becomes impossible.
My step-father, mother and father all died (stroke, cancer, heart-failure) while I've been in China.
Mine are all dead save one sister.
Keep the contact, tell those who are important to you those "touchy-feely" things that you never seem to find the right time to say.
You just never know when the last time you talk to them will be the "last" time you talk to them.
Not meaning to be a downer...just that it does become easy to put off contacting your family and loved ones (time difference, nothing to say, busy, busy, busy, etc.) until one day...it becomes impossible.
My step-father, mother and father all died (stroke, cancer, heart-failure) while I've been in China.
About once a week. Most of the time, it's a few stories, what we plan to do, comments on the actuality, a rant... Keep the contact, it's easy to become a complete stranger to your own family.
despite what many Chinese friends tell me that their families are closer than those of people from other countries, it is a generalization and not true for all of us.
Each of us have varying relationships with our families.
My family have always been close, despite a lot of world travelling by the various members
no matter where i am, i contact my parents once a week.
the rest of my family, not so often, but as often as i can.
even 5 minutes a week is not too much time just to say hello - there is nothing so important i can not cancel/postpone to do that, even if there are internet problems.
as Sinobear says, when they are gone, it is too late.
I have my mom dad and baby bro all on wechat. So i talk to mom every few days. Spend an hour or two a week on skype.
My dad hangs during the skype calls and just uses wechat to send pics and old man links he thinks is hilarious.
My baby bro is only 24 so hes a little more sporadic with his contact. But he must have a chat every time he gets drunk so i hear from him on weekends. But sometimes we dont connectnfor months even.
8 years and weve all managed to keep as close as we can.
I speak to my mother about once a week or two. My father does not like talking on the computer much. Not very computer savvy.
We have always had an understanding that our family love transcends distance. There is no need to run home to see the parents every year or two years. Modern technology lets us bond.
It will be a few years before I go home and see them. And, we are all ok with that. After the first few days of playing catchup and rehashing stories we talked about on Skype, there is little to say or do. Just sit around the house watching TV and playing computer games. Why spend $1000 on airfare just for that?
Actually, we are planning to get together next Spring Festival I think. Instead of me flying back to my hometown, we will meet someplace and have a family vacation together. Maybe Hawaii or California.
mike695ca:
My mom has been saying we will meet in Portugal for 8 years running. Yet every year i need to end up buying a ticket home.
