I find it very strange here that locals have numerous phone numbers. It’s often hard to know which number to use and I have to phone all the numbers to try to find them.
I think the reason lies in the reluctance of the telecoms companies to work together. Phoning and texting within the same network is a lot cheaper and so, the caller will choose which number to use in order to save money.
The trouble is that there are often multiple WhatsApp numbers too so you often have difficulty finding people there too. The phones are switched off or uncontactable.
I have spent 10 years within WeChat and have now had to change my habit to start calling people, sending WhatsApp messages (without hope of being read or r3eceiving a response) and wait for it….. sending text messages. I had even forgotten how to send text messages before I came here.
Where in China everything is done on Wechat – texts, emails, video calls, sending documents, buying stuff etc. here there are multiple apps you need and none of them do everything so I have to check email, text messages, WhatsApp and missed calls.
Africa takes some adjusting to and I miss the simplicity of the all-encompassing WeChat, even though the Chinese govt can read everything.