Now and Then

I first ventured over the borders of South Africa 10 years ago. I managed to access an email account that was the schools (the school I was working as a assistant teacher at). Naturally you would be very careful about what you were writing. I then got a Postmaster account, which meant I could sit at the communal computer and write emails back home to those brave enough to use the new technology.

To phone, I would wait until I could use the telephone in the headmaster's office.

My brother, David, decided it would be a good idea to start writing a story together as a way of keeping in touch. He would write a paragraph, then me, then him. It fell to pieces rather rapidly as we both pulled in opposite directions.

Contact was pretty limited. Although, people did tend to make an effort because you were outside the country.

So... 10 years later.

1) I have a blackberry so if you send an email to my work address, I will get it immediately.
2) I can be smssed.
3) If you read my blog, you will know what I am thinking about.
4) If you add me as a friend on facebook, you can see photos from what I am doing.
5) On facebook, you can see the books that I have been reading.
6) I chat with my mother on facebook chat.
7) I could get skype and actually see people in video calls.
8) If I was less lazy and tagged more, you could even see the websites I had found interesting on my del.icio.us page.

The friend who I am most in contact with is a friend who reads my blog, and we haven't lived in the same city for a number of years.

Borders matter less as travel is becoming cheaper and communication.

Is it possible that nationalism will slowly start mattering less too? Is it possible that all the barriers that distance used to create will slowly (or quickly) disappear?

The same applies to the spreading of ideas and the maturing of thought. Borders and distance between ideas shrinks...

Exciting times.