There's an App for That!

"Don't confuse me!  Just one and I will use it" Mom said as I was helping her set up a couple of apps that would keep us connected before we left.  It's no wonder she was confused.  There are a LOT of apps to choose from. these apps we chose, help us keep in contact with friends and family back home.  But then there are other apps that keep us entertained, help us connect with Chinese businesses and apps that are needed for our health.  Yes, there are apps for everything. Let me explain...

For the family and friends back home, we started with the standard, Skype. However, we were struggling with it so we went to Tango, then added WhatsApp and then it snowballed from there. Talkatone, hangout, Viber and that is just to keep in contact with family and friends! Our go to is WhatsApp which was recommended by my brother Mark. Wow, pretty slick and fun to use.  sometimes WhatsApp doesn't go through (we have spotty WiFi at the school) so then we go to Talkatone or Tango.  If those don't work, we resort to Facebook messenger. All this just to keep in contact with everyone we hold dear to our hearts.  But what about in China?  How do you communicate?  Well...there's an app for that.

Here in China WeChat is used heavily. WeChat is so useful among all those that we get in contact with.  If we find a business we like, we scan their QR code and there you have it. A contact. So when we want to get a haircut, we send a wechat message to John to set up an appointment.  He responds with Ok and we are in.  Same goes for our groceries, our rides for errands, and it goes on. I even set up wechat groups among my students to remind them of upcoming assignments, etc. So basically WeChat provides text messaging, sharing of photographs and videos, and location sharing and so much more.  You can even pay bills and buy your latte at Starbucks (they just launched it a couple of days ago) using WeChat!  Can friends and family using WeChat in the states?  Yes!  our son, Josh has been using WeChat periodically.

How about language you say?  I primarily use itranslate but if that doesn't work google translate or pleco or WayGo. All of these apps have helped us tremendously with grocery clerks, airport security and taxi drivers. one time, at the scooter shop, Randy and the mechanic was communicating through WeChat and they were right next to each other.

For our health we both have an air quality app to check the smog level.  so far, we are doing well and have our masks ready to use.  Luckily we are not as sensitive to it like our other colleagues.  We are far enough away from Dalian that the air quality is good relatively speaking.  Anything below 100 AQI is good.

None of this would work without a VPN.  Chinese government has banned a lot of WiFi services that we take for granted.  To get around those, a VPN is needed.  We have two on our computers and I have on my phone.  If one doesn't work, then we go to our second one (or third, or fourth). Viper, Express, and my latest add on, Atom (suggested by one of my students) are the ones we use the most.  Without them NOTHING would work. I am truly appreciative of these VPNs.

so there you have it.  An app for everything.  It is part of my life and I get excited when a new one is introduced to me (travel? - CTrip) .  My phone is FILLED with apps.  do you want an app? I got you covered.