This may or may not have been covered in a previous thread however I have found a couple of things useful to ease the painful process of culture shock.
Buy Vonage OR MagicJack before you leave that way you can call your friends and family in the US without paying outrageous international toll rates here. In some cases it is actually cheaper to call phones in Brazil depending on your calling plan. For me it is FREE up to 1000 minutes (cell phones) and FREE UNLIMITED (landlines)
If you enjoy watching television in English or are going to miss your TV shows you can pay for VPN services that will get you a United States IP address which allows you to watch shows online via. NBC, FOX, etc.
OR you can go a step further and buy a SlingBox which allows you to watch your TV as if you were in the US. You will need a family member or friend willing to let you leech off their cable provider.
Matt-
Suggestions on what to bring to help with culture shock...
WOW! Matt!
Great idea for a post! THANK YOU!!
I especially like the idea about saving on international calls. I do have some questions though.
I know what MAGIC JACK is, it's an apparatus you buy in a Walgreen's for example. But although I also know what VONAGE is too, when you say "BUY Vonage", isn't Vonage just a SERVICE? Or does it come in a TANGIBLE item too, just like MAGIC JACK, that you can purchase here and take with you to Brazil and use there?? OR, if Vonage IS just a SERVICE, versus MAGIC JACK, do you then mean I could ENLIST on the SERVICE HERE in the U.S. before leaving for Brazil and the service will still be good THERE?
And when you said that, for you, "it is actually cheaper to call phones in Brazil", did you MEAN to say that it's cheaper to call FROM phones in Brazil?? If NOT, please let me know what exactly you DID mean because you lost me there, otherwise.
Look forward to your reply.
And PLEASE let us know if anything else comes to mind as you live your daily life there that might help us in alleviating that culture shock, ok?
Dalia
Hi Dalia,
Vonage is much more reliable than MagicJack. Vonage is a service and a tangible device as well (ATA). It plugs into your router/switch port just like MagicJack and links off the Internet. Yes, you will need to purchase BEFORE you leave and bring the device with you. It supports 120/220 but you will need the adapter if your outlets don't have NEMA compatibility (mine do).
Yes, it is actually cheaper for me to call number in Brazil from Brazil using the Vonage device than it is to use my cell phone (not to mention a lot less bureaucratic). This depends on the calling plan you have - I have Vonage World Plus 1000 which allows up to 1000 minutes free to mobile phones in Brazil and unlimited minutes to land lines.
Hope that helps.
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