I'm not one for cliches but maybe there's something to them...

So, 8 months and 2 days into our relationship and I can safely say I've never been happier. Even now, it brings a smile to my face to think of our conversation this morning when I went through my ordinary routine of telling him about my plans for the day. I'm sure my fellow passengers on the bus this morning wouldn't have guessed I was having anything but a normal conversation with my boyfriend. Well I was, even though he's 7300 miles away. In our ever growing, globalized world, I can be thankful for the innovations that have allowed me to stay in touch with my love, despite the many deserts, oceans, and countries that separate us. As my first entry in my first ever blog (about long distance relationships no less...i mean, who would've expected this?), I plan to share my experiences and a few handy tools to help others who may find themselves in a situation like my own. 

Reliance allows me to use my phone to call internationally without the worry of hearing my dad be like "Rhea, have you SEEN this phone bill?!?!?!" Basically its a pre-paid calling card that has amazing rates for international phone calls (7 cents/min for India). It allows me to call anytime I would like for however long I like without putting a dent in my phone bill, because it channels the call through a local, toll free number.  There are similar options out there including jajah among others.

I think its a necessity to have video chats (I mean, how long are you supposed to go without seeing each other?) I mostly use ichat (don't get me started on how much I love my macbook), but I also use skype as an alternative, especially since its free for anyone to download. Not to mention that you can also make phone calls through skype for really cheap rates as well.

For his part, since he can access email and internet through his iphone (the two of us promote apple in our spare time) he uses fring, to allow him to access gchat and/or skype at any time or place. This is handy for those of you who don't want to end up glued to the computer. 

That about covers the basics of our set up. I'm sure we've just scratched the surface of all the great resources out there, which makes me wonder how many others are dealing with the same thing as me. Now the question remains - (no, not the question of how I ended up in my long distance relationship) - does this help me forget that we are so far apart? Well, no, its still tough. But I'm beginning to believe that distance does make the heart grow fonder. Plus, I know a good thing when I see one.