No phone, no life?

What did we do before the advent of cell phones?

It's crazy to imagine life without a cell phone even though I didn't get my first one until 2004. At the time, I was a reluctant owner because I just didn't think there was much need for one when I had a home phone and few friends. In the nine years I've owned one, I have become extremely dependent on cell phones, and I wasn't more aware of this fact than last week when I lost my phone.

This time a week ago, I was in a sense of panic because I had lost the one device that kept me connected to my life back home. I accompanied a friend to the evening service at her church and somehow lost my phone. In Johannesburg, and frankly I'd imagine almost anywhere in the world, cell phone thievery is pretty common. So much that when I told my colleagues at work that I'd lost my phone, they were unanimous in telling me to "forget it, it's been nicked."

Last Monday was Youth Day, a public holiday in South Africa, in honor of the lives lost during the 1976 Soweto uprising when students protested the white racist apartheid government's decision to mandate classes be taught in Afrikaans (a Dutch-influenced language spoken by whites in South Africa.) So I had to sweat out an extra day of panic as I waited to get in touch with the church I attended. No phone meant no ability to call my "Tuk Tuk" (my primary mode of transportation to work,) so I had to walk. I've walked to and from work several times, but as it gets colder, it gets harder to commit to 1.2 miles of the frosty morning air. It also meant I couldn't communicate with my family and friends who have become even more important to me on this lonely journey I am undertaking. No Whatsapp, Viber or Google Talk. Further, I had lost all the pictures and videos I'd been taking since I arrived as my smart phone doubled as my camera.

A similar type of this Tuk Tuk is my main form of transportation

Thankfully when I called the church on Tuesday, they had the phone. Someone had found and turned it in at the church. Can I just say that while I realize thieves exist everywhere, including in churches, I always felt that it wasn't stolen. I held out hope that I'd be reconnected with my phone. Too bad the good Samaritan who hooked me up with a sim for my phone (you need proof of residency to purchase even prepaid sims in South Africa to minimize fraudulent crimes committed via phones) didn't share the same belief. He canceled my sim. It took another two days before I was able to reconnect with him to get a new one.  By that time, I had almost lost it mentally.

It brings me to my questions, how attached are you to your phone and long can you go without cell phone use? Share your stories.