Things were very different back when I visited Spain. There wasn’t really any internet back then, hardly any email. The world seemed to be a much larger and more vast space since communication was a lot more expensive and cumbersome. If you wanted to reach out to a friend in another country, you had to send snail mail or make a long distance telephone call. There weren’t even any mobile phones back then.
It’s a bit of a shame recently because I did make new friends and acquaintances when I was over there, but because communication was much harder, we very quickly grew apart when I got back home. That’s just how things were back then. It’s a very different story today. Now, I have friends from countries all around the world, people that I’ve met in person and people that I’ve only ever communicated with online. If I want to send them a quick message, or ask them how the weather is over in their city, I just pick up my phone and send an instant message. Even email seems clunky. It really is a different world.
Back when I was younger and traveling in Spain, I remember that I was particularly worried about how people back home would get in touch with me if they had to. I had all these fears and scary scenarios. What if I ran out of money, and I had no one to turn to in Spain, and no way to get in touch with family back home? What if my cash and documents were stolen? Those sorts of scary thoughts could annoyingly intrude on my enjoyable travel experiences.
Nowadays, those kinds of scenarios would still cause trouble, but could be dealt with more easily, or at least with less hassle. If I need to get in touch with people, I can send an email, or make a voice call over the internet. I can even do a video call if I want to. When it comes to cash, there are some very convenient options for sending and receiving money, even across countries and continents. For example, a friend of mine was mentioning how money transfers to the Philippines are a lot easier now compared to years ago. I think that this really is one of those areas in life where technology is helping people to be more secure, more at ease, and more willing to travel to far away countries.