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In a Strange Land
A Laughing Matter
By Larry J. Pitman

"And then the pig ate his underpants.”

This is the punch line of a funny story about an expatriate I cannot relate here. But it illustrates a point I want to make. Humor is so important in maintaining a sane life while living in another country.

This thought occurred to me the other day as some friends related to me a hilarious experience during a trip to a small town in Peru. Though some of the incidents that happened were irritating at the time, my friends took great pleasure in entertaining us with their adventures.

What I liked about their stories was that they did not complain or make fun of anybody. Instead they just related the story without making judgmental remarks.

As they did, we can find humor in our own actions and reactions as well as to the incongruities that we find in our lives as expatriates. We can choose to laugh or to get angry and irritated. It is clear for our own mental health what is best for us. For me, I prefer laughter, joy and merriment anytime.

It is sometimes hard to remember that both sides can laugh about the adventures of someone who is unfamiliar with the language and ways of a new country. I remember when a friend of mine, newly arrived in Bolivia, wanted to get a book showing pictures of Bolivian birds. He couldn't understand why the all the people in the bookstores where he went, burst out laughing. Then he learned that the Spanish he was using actually meant that he was asking for photos of Bolivian male sexual organs. I am sure that the friends of the store owners had a good laugh when told about what the gringo has requested. My friend also told this story to his friends so everybody was laughing together about this.

Now we learn that a good laugh has all sorts of physical and emotional benefits. Certainly, it is one of the best ways to reduce stress. Laugh researcher Lee Berk, Associate Professor of Pathology at Loma Linda University states "at laugh's end, feel good endorphins flow, blood pressure settles down to below the norm, and increased oxygen to the brain revs up creativity. In short, laughter both stimulates and soothes, which is why we feel enlivened, refreshed and clear-headed much as we do after an aerobic workout.”

Laughter is also a good emotional check. If you realize that you have not laughed at anything for awhile, it is time to lighten up. When we feel comfortable and relaxed, we find things that are funny.

It turns out that laughter is also good for our bodies. Medical researchers have now shown a relationship of laughter to a strengthening of the immune system.

That brought to my mind a rather unusual application of this benefit. It seems that in some places in India, they have started laughing clubs. People come for an hour each week and just laugh. That seems too artificial to me.

I prefer my own method. Sometimes when I feel extra stress I go to my two volumes of the cartoon, “The Far Side,” for some relief. This gives a laugh break, and when I have finished, I feel a lot more relaxed. Look for something like this for yourself.

As Mark Twain once said: "Humor is a great thing, the saving thing, after all. The minute it crops up, all our hardnesses yield, all our irritations and resentments flit away and a sunny spirit takes their place.”

Keep that sunshine in your life.

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