Neurotics Abroad

Last night, I was telling my sister about the shots I'd had in preparation for my trip to China--Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Japanese Encephalitis, and Typhoid--and the prescription drugs I'd be taking with me--anti-Malarial medication and Cipro, a powerful antibiotic. I told her about the long flight to Shanghai and my concerns about the fact that I don't speak Chinese. I can't even seem to master a simple "thank you" in Mandarin. She looked at me a little puzzled, and then asked, "why would anybody choose to do this?". "it's an adventure," I told her. And it is. But it's also anxiety producing.

My anxieties are not what I think most people would expect, though. Despite the shots and the meds, I'm not anxious about illness. I'm not worried about safety, homesickness, living arrangements, or unusual foods. My biggest worry is this: will I have a sense of humor in China? Not will I find the humor in things. I feel certain that I'll laugh at myself there as much as I do here. I'm worried that the Chinese won't think I'm funny. Not even a teeny, weeny bit amusing. When this concern surfaced, it made me realize how much I try to make people laugh as a way to navigate the world. I use it all the time when I teach, and the thought of a month-long class with no humor terrifies me. Three days a week, three hours a day, tossing out lame jokes that nobody gets. All of those serious students waiting to learn serious things, and i just keep making lost joke after lost joke. Let's hope there aren't any hecklers in the crowd.

Of course, I think it might be prudent to spend some of my worry time fretting about things that really could get me into a heap of trouble--like my pitiful sense of direction. After all, I'm the person who got hopelessly lost once on her way to an orienteering class, so I have some serious cause for concern.

This is going to be an adventure. No doubt about it.




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