TRAVEL DIARY – The Wonders of Modern Technology

Well, here I am . . . sitting in a hotel business centre marveling at what we all take for granted these days. Having been able to deal with yesterday’s emails on the plane (yes, it was in flight-safe mode!) thanks to my Blackberry, and today, thanks to that and the fax machine, all my work can be dealt with just as though I was in the UK! The thought of being in America so quickly, let alone being able to carry out business here so easily, would have been unimaginable by our ancestors.

In a funny way I quite like traveling, as it seems to prompt me to think about life and things that are often taken for granted. Technology really is fantastic, but what is so valuable is the way it brings people together across continents. This has really struck me today – I have connected this morning, either on the phone or via GoogleTalk, with my secretary, another colleague, my wife, my mother, the JollyBlogger (whom I will meet face-to-face for the first time on Friday), two friends from home, a Christian brother who is going to show me some sights today, and my editorial assistant. People brought together by technology – again something we take for granted and shouldn’t.

Thanks to the technology God enabled us to create, I also made a connection I would never have done otherwise with several people in D.C., which has led to the fantastic opportunity I have to be immersed in Covenant Life Church this weekend. The boundaries between real life and my online personality are beginning to blurr in a big way this week! Putting faces to names with which I’ve become familiar will be a fantastic experience, I’m sure, as will seeing all the places that I’ve grown to love through watching my favorite TV show – the West Wing!