If you haven’t used Skype before, then you are missing out especially if you are overseas. We made the conscious decision to start using Skype with Canadian teachers interested in teaching in Australia (and UK and USA teachers) before they arrived, so that they learned about this tool early.
In one of our most recent blog articles, Homesickness while in Australia, we talk about how hard the first 3-months are, but then don’t give you many solutions to deal with this. Well one is Skype! It is FREE for you and for your family, friends, partner, etc. This means that even while teaching in Australia, you don’t have to worry about the expensive overseas calling rates, and can just use Skype. It will become your best friend and to make it even better, you can SEE them too! All you need is a webcam, or perhaps your laptop has a built in one, so it makes it feel like they are right beside you.

My suggestion is, sign up for an account now, and you will be surprised how many people are actually on it, even if you are not overseas yet. This way, when you are already on your computer, you can have a quick chat with someone too!

Ten years ago when I first travelling to Melbourne, Australia, Skype didn’t exist, or Facebook, and I was lucky to even have my family using internet regularly. Now back in Melbourne, having skype to quickly call my friends and family in Canada, makes such a difference to my enjoyment and love for living in Australia.