Go Beyond Borders, But Not with that UberTwitter

I happened to lose my mobile phone about a month ago. It wasn’t the most up-to-date model, but it did what I asked it to do, which was make phone calls. Which was all I needed, I thought.

After I got over the initial panic, I immediately presented myself at my provider’s store and took the opportunity to upgrade to a BlackBerry. And I found myself enjoying the new functions my fancy new device afforded me. There’s a reason that people refer to them as “CrackBerry.” (And no, Mr. Expat, I did not lose my previous phone on purpose.)

Finally I could Tweetr sans fin after downloading the UberTwitter app available for BlackBerry. So great, I thought. I could have access to Twitter even when we were in residence in our abode in France. And the practical side was that we finally had access to information at our house – no more news blackout. I didn’t waste any time in exploring possibilities.

So great! Web 2.0 no matter where I went!

And then I got the facture. In the past my mobile bills usually came to 35 Swiss francs. Not this one. The final figure was six times as high…due completely to my mobile Internet communications while “abroad.”

It’s hard to remember that France, for all its similarities to Suisse Romande, technically is “abroad,” even if the border we cross is a glorified ditch. And even now that Switzerland is part of the Schengen region and free movement of persons is possible, my mobile phone definitely is inorganic material even if the messages it receives are from actual humans.

Next time I pass the Swiss/French border stations, Mr. UberTwitter is going to have to shut his beak…

Advertisement