Calling Home.

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Slava
Major:
Status: Editor

I am an optimist! "Everything is gonna be good" - this is my motto.

Calling Home.
Slava Dolgopyatova

First of all, try asking other international students (preferably those who have been around for a while) for advice. They have most likely faced the situation with calling home and might share some valuable advice with you.
You will most likely find phone cards in the stores "for foreigners" (they might have names like World market, Eastern market, etc) or at the gas stations, though phone cards sold at the gas stations are usually more expensive. If there is an international/ethnic neighborhood in your city, make sure you checked there.
Now that you know where to buy a card, probably an even harder task is to choose the right one for you.
Minutes and rates differ from card to card, from country to country, and sometimes even from city to city within the same country. Some companies and cards specialize on certain countries.
You may use Abroadplanet Phone Cards Search Tool to find the lowest rates to your country! It's for sure cheaper to buy those ones.
Read attentively what is written on the card! Phone cards may have connection fees as well as expiration dates. Some cards also have weekly fees - this means that money on your account will "disappear" even if you don't use your card. For me personally it's better to buy the one without connection fees, when you pay only for the time that you actually talk. The cards without connection fees have lower rates, but you pay no matter if your call is answered or not, or even when the line is busy…
Check out another article which tells you how to use and choose phone cards.
In some cases it is better to buy the cards for one call. For example, you have a choice to buy a card for $5, $10, $20 for 30, 60 100 min. Based on my previous experience, I would buy the one for 30 minutes - and then, when I call home, I make sure to talk for all 30 min. If you want to divide a $10 card for 2 calls, be prepared that a part of your time will "disappear". I personally did not like that and decided that I'd better buy 2 cards for $5 than one for $10.
And finally here is the web site where you can buy relatively inexpensive cards:
www.nobelcom.com
Visit it and decide what the best option for you might be.

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