10-10 phone numbers

Any of you ever try to call internationally? I 'd never done it before today, but after "my" Ukranian orphan girls called me at 3 a.m., I had to make sure they were okay. After an hour of trying and searching, I finally figured out how to use a 10-10 number. They're a lot cheaper than ATT! But much more confusing to use. First you have to know the country code, which I didn't. I left this out or did something wrong anyway and ended up reaching a Spanish speaking country. No habla Espanol is the limit of my Spanish, so I hung up.

Finally, after many tries I reached Vika and Masha at their orphanage. They were fine. Someone had let them use a cell phone and they wanted to talk to me. Sweet girls. Even though my Russian is horrid and they don't speak English, we laughed and had fun for a few minutes. I didn't even mention the time difference.

Now, I'm afraid to get my phone bill! EEEK.

Anyone have any secrets for calling abroad? I'd love to know them.