Neophobic. What a great word. That describes me to a T.
This is pretty timely, since tomorrow I head off to Brazil, a country I've never been to, where they speak a language I've never heard, and have a culture I've never experienced. I know, I know, this is the adventure, the excitement of traveling abroad. For me, the night before a foreign trip feels like my last night on death row.
What can I say? I'm neophobic. I'm never thrilled by new trips overseas.
Now, let's be careful here: I'm not xenophobic at all. That is, on my many other trips to other countries, once I've figured out the system, I've had a ball. Australia, Italy, Switzerland, Japan, England, the American South, etc, etc, the list goes on -- all these strange countries have been fun and interesting to me. Once I've figured out the system.
It's just the part of going to them for the first time that stresses me out. Its an environment I do not know. Neophobia. Perfect word. That's me.
Indeed, every time I travel overseas, I think of Steve Martin's great line about trying to make himself understood in Paris: "The French -- it's like they have a different word for everything."
So after hearing this report on NPR, I looked up "neophobia" on the definitive source of all knowledge: Wikipedia. Wikipedia says:
Neophobia is also a common finding in aging animals, although apathy could also explain, or contribute to explain, the lack of exploratory drive systematically observed in aging.Aging, apathy, whatever. Neophobia is my new word and I'm sticking to it. Heck, at least it keeps me from eating that new rat poison....
(Plus, I'm now mad at Walt for cancelling out of the meeting at the last minute. )
6 comments:
My youngest had tears in her eyes at the first day of this week's camp. It's a day camp. She went to the same one last year. So it's not even that NEW. But she, like you, is a Neophobe.
And I'm ignoring the Wikipedia bit. Ignoring it! :-)
To wiki anything is pure joy -- then again, I LIKE puzzles, at times. I have a neophobe child who worries for a couple of weeeks prior to a new adventure, when experienced alone. Truth be told, my stomach would get in knots walking to the bus stop, for fear that something had changed overnight, and the bus wouldn't be there. I'm talking grade school here.
auntie p
p.s. Diagnosis is the first step to conquering.
p.s. Kahlo Taksithi, Xristaki!
aunt p
One wonders why a neophobe would agree to marry a fortysomething with a dog, two cats, and a couple of kids to boot. Apparently, you're able to suck it up every now and then!
So, how *was* Brazil?
Neophobe. Glad you said it. I was thinking it all the way to Canada and back. And this from a fellow neophobe. Dude, there have been other bands since the Rolling Stones.
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