I now know my limits as an adventurer. I can’t simultaneously live on a little tropical island in the South China Sea and go through cancer treatment. I have to face one challenge at a time. For now, the cancer is more urgent.
In order to deal with it, I’ve almost completely sequestered myself in a European world. I read British and Swedish papers online and I leave BBC Radio 4 running live throughout the day. I’m in better contact with my Swedish family than I’ve been for years. When Diane drives me to the High Speed Train, I can’t understand why everything suddenly looks so Chinese. When I write an email to my wonderful Chinese teacher to update her on the situation, I use English. How embarrassing is that!!!
My cancer taught me that I’m a wuz. I can only face one challenge at a time. First cancer, then Chinese (fighting cancer just might turn out to be slightly easier than learning Chinese, lets hope so anyway).