Hi there, welcome to the forum - there is all sorts of helpful info here, and some strange people!!
Has your notebook got WIFI ? If it has, there are various establishments that let you use a laptop by connecting to THEIR internet (which means you can use Skype) to phone the kids or one of the networking sites. If a neighbour has broadband, you could ask them nicely if you can tap into theirs.
Some places have free internet & computers for their customers' use.