That Dang Internet

I had the goal to post something every day.

And I had been successful, until Thursday.

The internet here isn’t the most reliable thing. About a quarter of the time, I don’t get any kind of internet access. And when I do have internet access, it is often very slow.

Now, everything in China is censored. Most of the internet is blocked.

If I connect to the internet from a regular computer, out of all of the websites I usually go to, I would only be able to get into Gmail. Facebook is obviously blocked, as is Blogger, YouTube and Google. It is frustrating, but there is a way around it. That is, when it wants to be cooperative and work for me…

Enter Astrill.

Astrill is a program that you can purchase and download to essentially trick the internet into thinking you are somewhere in the world you are not.

By clicking on “Portland” of “Miami” or “Scranton” I have instant access to Facebook, Blogger, and pretty much anything else online.

This means I also have access to Netflix. Currently, only those in the United States can enjoy Netflix online. Although Netflix isn’t blocked in China, I still wouldn’t have access to anything because I’m in China. However, just as Astrill allows me to get on Facebook, it also allows me to trick Netflix into working for me.

It costs about $5 a month, but I think it's worth it.   

Another fantastic thing about Astrill is that I can trick the internet into thinking I’m in England. Meaning, I can stream anything from the BBC for free. This is my favorite thing as I can now watch the new episodes of Doctor Who!

However, Astrill does not always like to work when I want it. There are 20 different cities in the U.S. that I can connect through, but quite often, none of them work. In fact, I wasn’t able to connect to Astrill for over 24 hours earlier this week. Meaning, no blog post on Thursday.

Although, I am still grateful for the times it does decide to work for me. It allows me to keep in contact with many more people I otherwise would not have contact with.