I was introduced to SKYPE when my daughter studied in Seville Spain for a semester. It was not unusual for her to be up at 3:00 am local time and we could talk despite the time difference. The image was often questionable but the audio was acceptable. For communication such as this, you can not beat it. Whole different culture - My daughter and her roomate purchased a type of poor man's internet connection that they had to plug in. Electricity is much more precious over there - they had to sneak their connection from the Senora that they were living with to have access. The alternative was some of the cafes or Tapas Bars that offered WIFI - which were few.
