I’ve always loved writing letters. While at school I would look forward to running back home to check if the postman had any international mail for me from my pen friends. I remember the time when Radio RSA (South Africa) had announced my name as a pen friend from India and I was overwhelmed when I received over 150 letters from all over South Africa! It used to be fun going to the GPO and buying newly released stamps and first day covers (I wonder if they still have them!). Over the years some lost touch some just disappeared and by the time I finished college there was hardly any time for such indulgences.
Once you are bitten by the writers bug the effects are irreversible and you get hooked to writing in one form or the other. Soon personal communication skills got moulded into effective business communication until the internet revolution took place.
Although I was always excited about meeting people and making new friends I was quite a skeptic as far as online socializing was concerned. My nephew then introduced me to ICQ which was big those days. It was nice as a novelty but something seemed to be missing. MSN messenger was the next big thing, introducing all of us to the wonderful world of instant messaging and “Add friend request”. This was more acceptable as most contacts would be people who I used to correspond with via hotmail.
Very soon there was an explosion of social networking sites none of which really excited me. ICQ went into oblivion and Orkut was the flavor of the month. It seemed too frivolous to me and Facebook in part plugged the loopholes Orkut had. I don’t have an account on either of them and I surprised myself when I registered on Livemocha.com . Being an extremely private person this was a leap of faith for me but my desire to learn Spanish and travel to LatAm was so strong that I just could not stop myself from being there.
Today, I am absolutely thrilled about being on livemocha and meeting some incredibly amazing friends. I’m looking forward to meeting Silvia and her cute little daughter Luciana in Costa Rica and celebrating my birthday with Suzana and her friends in Brazil. I am sure I will be meeting more virtual friends during my travel and get to know them better. During the last few weeks I have been surfing almost 8-10 hrs a day planning my trip and discovered two more amazing sites for those who love travel. TravBuddy.com and CouchSurfing.com. If you are someone who travels a lot or just loves traveling do give these sites a dekkho. I bet you will be awed by the endless opportunities they offer. You can check me out on these sites, under the user name - Vyne.
Last but not least a special thanks to Silvia and Suzana for being such wonderful buddies. The warmth and affection displayed by you to a total stranger makes you true ambassadors for your country. Because of you I have started enjoying my vacation even before it has begun.
Once you are bitten by the writers bug the effects are irreversible and you get hooked to writing in one form or the other. Soon personal communication skills got moulded into effective business communication until the internet revolution took place.
Although I was always excited about meeting people and making new friends I was quite a skeptic as far as online socializing was concerned. My nephew then introduced me to ICQ which was big those days. It was nice as a novelty but something seemed to be missing. MSN messenger was the next big thing, introducing all of us to the wonderful world of instant messaging and “Add friend request”. This was more acceptable as most contacts would be people who I used to correspond with via hotmail.
Very soon there was an explosion of social networking sites none of which really excited me. ICQ went into oblivion and Orkut was the flavor of the month. It seemed too frivolous to me and Facebook in part plugged the loopholes Orkut had. I don’t have an account on either of them and I surprised myself when I registered on Livemocha.com . Being an extremely private person this was a leap of faith for me but my desire to learn Spanish and travel to LatAm was so strong that I just could not stop myself from being there.
Today, I am absolutely thrilled about being on livemocha and meeting some incredibly amazing friends. I’m looking forward to meeting Silvia and her cute little daughter Luciana in Costa Rica and celebrating my birthday with Suzana and her friends in Brazil. I am sure I will be meeting more virtual friends during my travel and get to know them better. During the last few weeks I have been surfing almost 8-10 hrs a day planning my trip and discovered two more amazing sites for those who love travel. TravBuddy.com and CouchSurfing.com. If you are someone who travels a lot or just loves traveling do give these sites a dekkho. I bet you will be awed by the endless opportunities they offer. You can check me out on these sites, under the user name - Vyne.
Last but not least a special thanks to Silvia and Suzana for being such wonderful buddies. The warmth and affection displayed by you to a total stranger makes you true ambassadors for your country. Because of you I have started enjoying my vacation even before it has begun.
