My regular cell phone back home is a bit…glitchy and it’s not fancy. When it comes to cell phones, it’s completely about basics for me – text and call, primarily for travel or emergencies.

I have a simple pay-as-you-go monthly plan for $11.30 per month that includes a limited text plan.

That’s it.

Anyway, because I don’t have a regular monthly plan, I can’t get a temporary international plan added on and because the phone itself is glitchy, I didn’t feel confident about just getting a new local SIM card.

So….I opted for a whole new cell phone.

I wanted one because the place I’ve rented doesn’t have a phone at all and pay phones have almost completely gone the way of the dinosaur. I wanted to have something in case there was an emergency – just for a bit of security.

Since I’ve been here, I’ve had to call or text the owner of the place several times – to figure out how to fix the WiFi, how to operate the oven, and now today, how to operate the washing machine. (Thank goodness that the owner is such a nice lady!!)

No…none of them were emergencies, but not figuring them out would have put a real crimp in my plans. Particularly the washing machine bit. I had packed based on the idea that I could wash clothes half-way through my trip.

Having the phone meant I could pop her a quick text and within seconds she called and told me what to look for and it was done! (MUCH faster than if I had had to handwash everything!! 🙂 )

So while I hope the absence of emergencies continues, I am still very glad that I decided on the phone and already consider it money well spent.

Another techy thing I have to say I’m grateful I bought is the Bluetooth keyboard I’ve been using to write my posts.

I bought it on Amazon a couple of months ago. I don’t mind using the regular tablet keyboard when I’m just typing something short – like a post on Instagram or a quick email – but for something longer – like a WordPress post – I use my laptop at home. I didn’t want to bring my laptop, though, so I decided to get a keyboard for my tablet.

And boy am I glad I did! It’s tiny, of course, but still easy to use and so much more convenient than using the screen keyboard. Ugh. I can’t even imagine. Well, I just wouldn’t be writing as much. It would be way more of a chore and not at all enjoyable.

So if you’ve ever wondered about getting a Bluetooth keyboard for your tablet, I highly recommend it. I charged it once, before the trip, and haven’t had to recharge it again yet, so it’s got a lot of juice in it! You can see the one bought here.

Note: I’m not getting any sort of benefit for recommending this keyboard. I bought it myself and just really like it. It’s the only such product I’ve ever used so I can’t speak about it comparatively towards any other keyboard.

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