An Unexpected Yet Required Skill When Moving Abroad

Laughter is Lightening Up

If we haven’t met, and we most likely haven’t, my name is Savannah and I’m a Type A perfectionist. I love to be early, organized, and to perform to the best of my abilities, sometimes to a bit of an extreme degree. I often take making mistakes, especially silly ones, much harder than necessary… but, come on, it’s embarrassing to mess up, right?

Well, moving abroad puts you face-to-face with your humanity—that is, your imperfections.  

Within my three months of living in Spain, I have made plenty of silly mistakes. Here are some highlights:

• I got on the wrong commuter train (right line, wrong direction… do I get partial credit?), even though my gut told me I was wrong. I went north instead of south.
• I was this close to walking into the men’s locker room when I went to the gym for the first time.
• I’ve been taking salsa classes in Spanish, and during one lesson the teacher asked me to help demonstrate the next step. I was nervous in front of everyone, so all language comprehension went out the window. He told me to go forward and I went backwards. Twice.
• I’ve tripped up the Atocha—one of the busiest metro and train stations in Madrid—stairs more than I care to confess. 

Through these, there is one thing I learned: if you’re not comfortable with laughing at yourself, you shouldn’t move abroad. 

Laughter is Learned: The Skill of Laughing at Yourself

Now, you might be thinking: Savannah, why would you consider laughing at yourself a skill? Being able to laugh at a mistake means you’re practicing a countercultural shift in your mindset. After all, it’s not “normal” to laugh at yourself when you say the wrong word or do the wrong thing; we cultivate a deep-sense-of-shame and a hide-that-you-messed-up culture that we can’t even handle when we trip up the stairs in public.

So, laughing at yourself is not a passive reaction, but an active choice to find something positive in an awkward or embarrassing situation.

When I almost walked into the men’s room, I was mortified. Especially because I turned around (just in time) and one of the gym employees was wagging a finger at me to tell me “no” (a little late, sir). Objectively an embarrassing situation.

However, I couldn’t help but think about how funny it was. While there was no signage that indicated that I was going to the wrong place, it’s hilarious that I had a 50-50 shot on picking the right locker room and I picked the wrong one. In spite of my embarrassment, I laughed my way to the women’s locker room.

I must confess that if this had happened to me even 6 months ago, it would’ve had the power to ruin my day because it was so embarrassing. I would’ve stewed over it, reprimanding myself for not being more observant or for making a fool of myself. Now? I can laugh at my mistake and think of the bright side: whew, thank goodness I didn’t walk through that door!

Finding the bright side of an embarrassing situation changes the very makeup of your brain. You are training yourself to seek something positive in the little mistakes, which will prepare you to do the same in bigger or more difficult situations in life. It’s a choice to laugh at yourself and a skill to do so continuously, no matter how silly or serious the mistake is.

Laughter is Longevity

Need more convincing? I have compiled a few facts about the health benefits of laughter for you to learn from and enjoy:

• Over time, laughter improves your immune system as it releases chemicals that work against stress and even illness. (Mayo Clinic)
• Laughter releases dopamine and serotonin, which decrease anxiety and stress. (National Library of Medicine)
• Laughter increases the body’s oxygen levels, which supports and strengthens your organs. (Cleveland Clinic)

So, laughing at yourself in spite of your mistake is good for both physical and mental health. It strengthens your organs and muscles as you increase positive neurotransmitters and oxygen levels. It strengthens your mental health by practicing resilience and flexing the muscle of positivity.

Laughter is Learning

Within the past couple of months since moving abroad, I have learned that embarrassing moments are going to happen no matter what—and it’s just not that serious. In fact, as I wrote this blog, I found myself still laughing at the memories of my various mess-ups.

Of course, I must include a disclaimer: it isn’t always easy to laugh at yourself. Sometimes things are just difficult or embarrassing or frustrating. That’s okay! In those moments, it’s healthy to take time to react. However, I hope that, perhaps with some extra time or space, the embarrassing moment will become something laughable.

It really is amazing that we can look back on embarrassing or even frustrating moments with a smile! After all, mistakes are just learning opportunities, right? What better thing to pair with learning than laughter!

Sources

The Cleveland Clinic: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/is-laughing-good-for-you

The Mayo Clinic: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-relief/art-20044456

The National Library of Medicine: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8496883/