communications, at least the phone calls, kept the family together. Mauricio and Olga both

mentioned how the communication "kept him going" and "helped him during his time away."

Such affirmations suggest that a reliable method of communicating is fundamental in

maintaining a migrant's perception that he is still connected to his family while he is away. As

demonstrated by Mauricio and Olga, frequent phone conversations between migrants and their

wives and extended family may reduce the perception that they need to return in order to save

their marriage or maintain contact with their family. Thus, this method of communication may

make it more possible for migrants to spend significant amounts of time in the U.S. without

destroying their family ties in Guatemala.

 Access to communication may enhance the migration experience, yet in order for this to be

the case, couples must know how to use the medium to their advantage, especially when faced

with the interference of their in-laws.

 Esperanza and Ricardo had been separated for less than two years when Esperanza went

to visit her sister-in-law, ostensibly her friend and confidant. Her sister-in-law invited her to

lunch on a Friday afternoon and afterwards asked casually about the allowance money she was

receiving from her husband. Esperanza told her the truth, that Ricardo sent her about two

hundred dollars a month (in 2000). Her sister-in-law then proceeded to grill her about how she

had been spending the money. The next Monday, Ricardo called Esperanza and began to yell at

her hysterically, screaming that she needed to tell him the details of what she had been doing

with the money. Even though the money Esperanza had been receiving was just the gasto, or

expense money, Ricardo told her that, as her husband, he had a right to know what she was doing

with it. Esperanza tried to speak with him calmly, but because he was so hysterical, she gave up,