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The six stages of a Nepali family video call
- The connection. Video on both ends. Neither camera is pointing at a face.
- The volume negotiation. “Can you hear me?” is said four times, twice by each side, always simultaneously.
- The tour. The phone is walked around a room so that you may look at furniture.
- The roll call. Everyone in the house is fetched, one at a time, to say one sentence and leave.
- The food audit. What you ate, when, and whether it was hot. There is no acceptable answer.
- The ending, which is not an ending. Goodbye is said. Nobody hangs up. Three more topics arrive. Goodbye is said again.