The Skype Phone

In response to my previous blog entry, my devoted husband allegedly (he wont admit it) sent an email out to a mass group of friends and family encouraging people to call me. I just realized this when I opened my Skype account and found 16 loving voicemail messages.

Unfortunately, here’s the deal with the Skype phone. There is a way that the phone number you have can ring into my apartment. I know very little about physics, but what I do know is that the electricity current in China is like 1000x stronger than we have in the USA and if you plug your US electronics into the wall, they will fry. I learned this only after 1) my hairdryer wouldn’t turn on anymore 2) Our CO2 detector stopped working and 3) a power strip had a mini-explosion on my first night (T+3 hours landed in Shanghai) and I had a blackout in my apartment. (Hi, front desk, yes, this is 2A, I arrived 30 seconds ago … yes, the sweaty American girl with the big bags … I blew out every fuse in my apartment… Um, my fuse box blew out…um electricity…? Let’s see: No light – all black – please fix.)

I learned from these experiences that besides being a slow learner, you cannot just plug anything into the wall with a simple adapter. You need a converter. Now, this may seem like a simple task but upon shopping for converters in China, I realized that the following is not a recipe for success:

- Not speaking Chinese
- Not knowing squat about electricity
- Not wanting to break anything else

Decision: I better wait for Aaron to arrive to make our apartment high-tech. (aka plug in our electronics)

What were we talking about? Oh yes, Skype. OK. So, we have a Skype phone that will actually ring in the apartment (once hooked up) when you dial the number you have. As of now, however, when you call, it rings into my computer. If my computer is on and the program is open, I can get the call. But, usually, the little time that I am home at night that I’m not sleeping, my computer is off.

MAIN MESSAGE: Do not stop calling. I love getting your voicemails! But, we have to wait a couple more weeks (hopefully just 3) until Aaron arrives, gets us all electrified, and then we can SKYPE IT UP!