ABSTRACT
For nine months of the year, Winston and his girlfriend Donna live as a transnational couple. Donna, a woman who was born on the east coast of the United States, first met Winston on a trip to visit a few friends in rural Jamaica. While the initial trip was only a few weeks, Winston and Donna stayed in touch until Winston managed to acquire a visa to the U.S. for a few months of farm work. Winston did not take to farm work and eventually decided that he was most content living a relatively thrifty, “natural” lifestyle in the hills of Jamaica. Donna, by contrast, had a small business that she had developed and was committed to maintaining. Rather than break off their romance due to distance, they decided to stay involved through Donna's annual stay (three months) in the winter months as well as weekly and, at times, daily phone calls. As Winston describes:
Yes it [the mobile phone] made a lot of difference. It set your mind more at ease. Sometime she get worried, but now as soon as she want to talk she just dials. She want to call me night day or anytime. I am doing my own work so I can stop at anytime. Sometime she calls at night or in the afternoon. She calls before she goes work. (interview with author, 2004)
