{"id":16093,"date":"2016-02-28T07:00:55","date_gmt":"2016-02-28T12:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/?p=16093"},"modified":"2016-03-03T11:07:11","modified_gmt":"2016-03-03T16:07:11","slug":"a-belgian-in-the-north-country-call-me-maybe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/allin\/2016\/02\/28\/a-belgian-in-the-north-country-call-me-maybe\/","title":{"rendered":"A Belgian in the North Country: call me maybe?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I will be in the United States for five months, so I decided to buy myself an American sim card. My decision to perform this action might have been taken under a little bit of pressure. Everyone I met in the first weeks asked my phone number so they could reach me when they needed to. I figure that having an American sim card might be cheaper on a long-term basis. So I walked to the store to buy the sim. It was not as easy as I thought it would be. The guy in the store told me that they do not have sim cards for phones. “But you can buy a kit with a phone included.” I do not need a new phone; I have my own phone with me. So I walked out and googled<\/em> all options. After a week, I finally decided what to do. I bought a sim card for $10 without a data plan, but at least I did not buy a new phone. I already have two phones and I do not need a third.<\/p>\n

Monthly plans<\/h2>\n

I came home with my new card and the card said I needed to activate it. Second stress attack in this get-yourself-an-American-number process. The steps in the info brochure are not really clear, so it took me a while before figuring it out. After a while, I finally managed. Now I have to choose a plan: $45 or $30 a month. I do not want any of them to be honest. I just wanted to give up when I read the fine print below. There is a 10 cent\/min plan, too.\u00a0Sounds good to me. I am not planning to use the phone very often anyway.<\/p>\n

Text me please<\/h2>\n

Proud as I am, I send my number to all the Americans I know already. “You can now send me messages if you want.” One of my friends is the first one. After receiving his message, a pop-up appears asking how much money the text cost. I am surprised. I have to pay for receiving messages and calls? That does not make sense to me.<\/p>\n

I start to read the brochure that came with the sim card and I soon realized that the money I added on the account is only valid for a month. That is a big waste of money I think. I added $10 so people would be able to reach me and I am able to reach them; but I am never going to use that amount of money in a month. So having an American sim card will cost me almost $40 for my entire stay, even when I am not using the phone. I think I might not add any more money but then people can’t reach me either, can they?<\/p>\n

I just activated the card when my phone starts to ring. I have no idea who is calling me, since no one has my number yet. Soon, I realize they are spammers. I already get annoyed when I receive emails from people I do not want, now they are calling me? No, please no!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Call me like the Belgians do<\/h2>\n

So this is my first big dislike of the United States. Belgium has two options. You can have a monthly plan or you can have a prepaid card. I had a monthly plan for a while, which gave me free minutes and text messages for $16 a month. Before I left, I changed back to a prepaid card. I add $16 to my account whenever I want and the money stays on for a period of a year. If you do not use the money in a month, the account transfers it to the next month. This way I always have money on my account.<\/p>\n

Also whenever we text, we do not pay for receiving texts. If my friend decided to spam me with of plenty messages, I do not have to pay for her crazy texting. When my mom calls me, I just pick up and say hello for free. So I am probably never going to complain about my provider ever again. I am thankful for free calls and text receiving and money transfers.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Melissa Callaert is working as an intern at North Country Public Radio for the Spring 2016 semester.<\/em><\/p>\n

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