Who needs to talk when you can be a lemming

I just returned from a two-week tour of Europe. On my teacher's salary, I could never afford to travel there with Western tours so this was my third go at traveling with a Chinese tour. I have had a wonderful experience on every occasion. Besides the affordability, the truth is that I am a nervous traveler. Making all the reservations and connections is a nightmare for me, so I am ready to sacrifice autonomy for security.

This does, however, require that one develops the mentality of a lemming, that rodent notorious for following its leaders, even if it is over a cliff. In most aspects of my life, I am extremely independent. No one carries my purse and parcels. I have gone boldly into wildly different life changes, but when it comes to travel, show me a flag and I'll follow it. (I am very grateful, however, that wearing a group hat has gone out of favor. I might have drawn the line there.)

The group leaders were a bit nervous at first. Until they saw me at the airport they thought that Ms Lee was just another Chinese traveler. Furtive phone calls to the agency confirmed that I would, indeed, be one of their flock. I promised them that my not speaking Chinese was not a problem. I'd just go where they pointed. There was one little matter, however. I wouldn't be eating Chinese food with them. I would find an eatery nearby and enjoy local cuisine. It worked out fine. I'd find a bistro or caf nearby and we'd all be happily fed.

Since I am single, I usually share a room with another woman. On my first trip, to Egypt, I couldn't have been luckier. They paired me up with Shelley, who speaks fluent English and we adored each other almost instantly. The second time, my potential roommate took one look at me and said she'd rather sleep with her friends on a rollaway in their room. I was indignant at first, but then realized I'd have a room to myself, so why get huffy? This year I lucked out again. Stella was traveling with her parents.

Traveling in a group means that the first day we are all strangers, but we soon have staked out our seats on the bus and find each other's faces quickly in a crowd. We get increasingly comfortable with each other and soon a family atmosphere develops. The novelty of traveling with a laowai wears off and I become just one of the gang.

During this latest trip, we had a few days and nights that included getting in and out of airports to take connecting flights. That was extremely tiring. We waited in endless lines, passed through endless security checks and were in a bit of a stupor during it all.

Two of our traveling companions were Dr and Mrs Zhang. They were unfailingly cheerful. What was remarkable is that Mrs Zhang had trouble walking, but she smiled bravely and kept up with us through the miles of tourist adventuring. Finally, we realized that she could have a wheelchair to make it all easier at the airports.

In Paris we had moved from one area to another, were short on sleep, and having endured several transfers in two countries we were eager to get our bags and get to the hotel.

The group started moving as one mass. We all trudged wearily, eyes half closed, down a long passageway. Suddenly we all began laughing as we realized what we had done. Like the lemmings, we had followed behind the Zhangs only to discover that the man was wheeling his wife to the restroom!

What fun to have such a hearty laugh together! We were strangers no more; just a group of jolly travelers enjoying a silly moment. Memories are made of such moments as this.