Hand gesture

I have always been one to support gestures; if i want to point to something without speaking-I'll point with my lips or nose and look in that direction. In my family there are a lot of gestures done with hands and their faces that don't need explaining. Their gestures while they tell jokes or stories are the best. When i listen and see a story its completely different from if i read it over aim/text-the Internet. I feel a lot is lost. In person you hear and see what the person is portraying: movement of their body and actions, along with the pitch of their voice- changing voices when there's another person talking and accents they might have.
On the computer I will read plainly, and if i want to portray any emotion i have to result to the smiley face option on my AIM box. The problem with that, is the smiley faces fall short since the Internet lacks the connection of personal interaction. Reading is different from person to person and so, i might get offended if my friend types in all caps..thinking she's yelling at me when really she's just really happy and hyper. It's difficult to get the whole story across through an email or through chat, till the web cam. It makes a bridge that wasn't achieved before. Now i can see, talk, and hear my family that's all over the world. Even though there's miles dividing, i can still wake up real early, or stay up real late, to see, talk, and hear my brother that's in Kabul.