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Mon, 12 Apr 2004
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Sometimes I hate telephones, sometimes I love them.
I spent about a half an hour today trying to call Africa. My best friend is a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger, and she seldom has access to a phone. She's in Niamey today at a hostel that actually does have a phone, and even a computer with internet access.
Calling internationally always involves a lot of dialing--first the AT&T number, then the phone card number, then the actual number. I did this about 20 times. These are some of the messages I got:
All circuits are busy to the country you are dialing
Your call cannot be completed within the country you are dialing
beepbeepbeepbeep beep beep beep
Meanwhile, all I really wanted to hear was Bess's voice.
I did get through eventually, but we only talked for 4 minutes before getting cut off. I only had 13 minutes on my phone card anyway--hardly enough. We can easily talk for over an hour.
Bess and I haven't lived in the same city for a while, so when she was still in the states we had a lot of long phone conversations about everything and nothing. It's been a challenge these last few months to write a letter when I really want to just babble about everything going on in my life to the one person who really understands.
I need to go visit her in Niger.