Jet lag

I decided to do this post on jet lag, as I am now suffering from my worst case of it. During all my travels, whether to Paris, Scotland, Germany, or Thailand, I have always had a little bit of jet lag. When crossing time zones, it is inevitable. However, there are a few trends I have noticed.

First, the definition. According to wikipedia, "When traveling across a number of time zones, the body clock will be out of synchronization with the destination time, as it experiences daylight and darkness contrary to the rhythms to which it has grown accustomed: the body's natural pattern is upset, as the rhythms that dictate times for eating, sleeping, hormone regulation and body temperature variations no longer correspond to the environment nor to each other in some cases. To the degree that the body cannot immediately realign these rhythms, it is jet lagged."

The most common symptoms, from the same source, are as follows:
Headaches
Fatigue, irregular sleep patterns, insomnia
Disorientation, grogginess, irritability
Mild depression
Constipation or diarrhea

I would add to this list a feeling of coming apart. Yesterday I arrived in Khon Kaen at 7:15am after traveling for almost 48 hrs. By the afternoon, I actually felt like I was going to fall apart--physically. My body was like an entity out of my control. I took a brief nap and woke up with a case of pretty intense anxiety and exhaustion. Never before in my life have I wanted to sleep so badly. However, I fought it and went to the movie. During the movie, the only thought that kept cycling through my head was "People die when they don't sleep. I totally get that now."

One of my coworkers took me home on the motorsai and I felt like I was losing grip on my molecules. It's hard to describe, but it was a desperate feeling. Like if I didn't go to sleep my body was going to float away from itself. Once in bed, I almost couldn't sleep because I felt so anxious for no reason. It was pretty awful.

When I did sleep, it was deep for about 6 hrs. Then I woke up for a bit before falling asleep until 7:00am. Once up then, I decided to stay awake. Luckily Allison rolled in at that time, and we talked and caught up.

Now, at about 4:30pm, I feel totally exhausted once again. My eyes are itchy with sleep, my head hurts, and I can't seem to drink enough water. My conclusion for this entry-- jet lag is a terrible beast that makes me an anxious, groggy, and unhappy person.

BUT, onto remedies. While there is no actual way to avoid it, here are some tips I have heard/learned over my travels.
1. Drink lots of water while traveling. Hydration is key.
2. As soon as you start traveling, put yourself on the timezone of your destination. Eat and sleep on this schedule.
3. Fly into your destination at night. This means you can go right to bed after a presumably tiring experience. (This was the biggest difference for me this time around-- I got to Bangkok at midnight but couldn't sleep because I was in the airport. Then I flew into KK in the morning and had to stay awake the whole day, making it 3-4 days without any sleep.)
4. Power through! Keep moving and find something to do. Once you sit down... you're done.

And, according to Wikipedia, this is another option: "A recent study in hamsters showed that sildenafil citrate (known commercially as Viagra) aided in a 50% faster recovery from shifts comparable to eastward travel experienced by humans and was effective starting at low doses.[9] However, this use has not been tested in humans and is considered an off-label use by the drug's manufacturers."

I'm curious about other people's experiences. Any tips from well-seasoned travelers? Or horror stories?

Now I must go into another meeting.

Jet lag=pain, yo.

It appears we've entered 2011

I was told over Christmas break that I needed to update this thing... especially since the last entry was Dec 1, meaning I have not updated on the following:
a. Final project time
b. Retreat time/closing the semester
c. Back to the US!
d. Back to Thailand

I will try to do my best, retrospectively. FIRST, final project time.

During this time, our students are presented with potential projects that have been suggested by communities and NGOs that we have worked with in some way over the course of the semester. As p'facs, we each get a project or two to advise. I worked with a land reform project with two students. The communities are being charged with causing global warming through their farming practices. It was so absurd, we all got so amped and angry about it. The students put together an AMAZING report that was above and beyond what they needed. I was so proud!! The other project involved laying the foundation for a Civil & Political Rights (CPR) report. The program has for years done work with Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ESCR), but due to the political situation we saw the need to expand our focus. Ideally, this will result in the creation of a "bridge" document, bringing together all the reports that have already been created with the additional focus. Very exciting potential for the spring!

THEN, it was retreat time. It was a great time, reflecting and evaluating the semester in its entirety. Exhausting as well. I'll be honest, it was an emotional rollercoaster for me. I cried out of happiness, sadness, anger, and every other emotion on the spectrum.




In the end, it was a good closing for the fall and began the mental shift to Spring 2011. We have 20 students coming!

After this, I went back home for the holidays. It was so nice to be back around family and friends for 2 weeks. A great mental break from the CIEE world. The trip was actually far easier than expected. Not too much reverse culture shock (I was worried) and the time difference adjustment wasn't so bad. I didn't sleep for 3 days straight, but it didn't bother me so much.


I started to get a little delirious towards the end when Shivani was over at my house, but otherwise all was well. My shining moment was probably surprising Mom by coming home two days early. Thanks to Bob, who is a champ, I got to the house around 4am. Showered, slept, and then snuck downstairs ninja style. I came up behind her on the couch and said "Merry Christmas Mom" at which point she started weeping. Now time for the collective "awwww."


Otherwise, there was snow and LOTS of visiting with folks. Everyday was jam-packed with people time. It was great. :)





Now I am back in Thailand after a LONG journey. I was really exhausted yesterday and made the mistake of taking a two hour nap in the afternoon. When I was awakened, I literally felt insane. I had this ball of anxiety in my chest and I felt totally at the end of my rope. Washed out, or something. But then I hopped on the back of the motorsai with Alvin (a great way to quell anxiety) and drove to Central to see Tron (a movie.) It was in 3-D, and was ok. My synopsis of the movie would be as follows: your dad leaves you to go on a 20 yr LSD binge and then you find him again, washed up and totally insane--however, instead of seeing him for the crazy person he is, you actually go INTO his drug-fueled fantasy and play along with his "new world."

Seriously. That is what I think Tron is about. Heads up.

Otherwise, I am now sitting in the CIEE office getting ready for the first day back at work. Allison got in this morning around 7:30, so we sat in our room and reminisced about all the cheese we ate. It's nice to be back.

SPRING 2011, here we come.