Exhausted in India

Permission to vent? Ok here goes. So... jet lag is a royal pain in the butt. It's literally ruining my day. But I don't know why. I mean, I never felt this way until about a month ago. See, in my pre-married youth I crossed my share of oceans to frolic in distant lands without ever really feeling jet-lagged. My entire 20s were spent working long enough to save enough vacation time to fly as far away as I could once or twice a year. I was kinda sorta tired that first day or two on that new continent, but certainly not enough to keep me from the top of the Eiffel Tower at sunset or whatever cool sight-seeing idea I had come up with in the midst of my dizzying excitement during the plane ride over.

But celebrate enough birthdays and cross one too many time zones and your body will eventually revolt, as I'm sadly learning. Just over two weeks ago, Brendan and I traveled 28 hours from Bali, Indonesia, to Chicago, Illinois, and it took us a good week to stop waking up at 2 a.m., starving and wired. Thankfully we were staying with his folks, who were understanding, patient, and at least pretended to be sympathetic when I almost broke down in tears in Nordstrom Rack around 2 p.m. (because I could not deal with the disarray of the shoe racks after ten unsuccessful cups of coffee, which seemed like the saddest thing in the world at the time).

Just when our bodies got used to Central time again, we went and flew 14 hours in the opposite direction to Delhi, India, turning our backs on what we'd been training our fragile internal clocks for the past two weeks. I knew this stretch of the trip would be a crazy whirlwind adventure beforehand, but I never expected to be hit this hard by the backwards-ness of it all. A good's night sleep would help, but I just can't seem to find my rhythm. After dinner I'm ready to start my day and after breakfast I feel like it's closing time at the bar. They say the best way to get acclimated to your new time zone is to stay active and outdoors during daylight hours, letting the light of the sun be your natural guide. And that sounds very practical and easy in theory, doesn't it? Well, yesterday (our first full day on the Indian sub-continent, mind you) Brendan and I napped from about 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. No lunch, no nothing. I honestly may not have gotten up if the building had been on fire, napping felt so good.

I know I sound very weak and ungrateful right now. I know this, and I know that if Brendan is reading this he's nodding his head emphatically (hi honey!). We're lucky enough to be traveling the world for a whole year, and part of traveling very long distances by air means that I will have to get used to new time zones on a semi-regular basis. It's a small price to pay for authentic aloo gobi and veg pakoras, after all. But man, I'm just tired of being tired. What happened to all that traveling adrenaline I used to have?

Thanks. I feel better. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go flip a coin between eating dinner or passing out for the night (it's 6 p.m., btw).

-Sarah

Comments

I have never been a good traveller, but I do know, you need to rest sometime. So, take a nap, and when it is over, I am sure you will feel much more relieved.

Oh, first post. Woot!

I am not a traveler; I haven't seen great lands, or even been on a plane as a matter of fact. I live in Southeast Michigan, visited Cleveland for my honeymoon, and never been to the west side of the state. But I can completely understand what you are going through. Just look at this as preparation for you for pregnancy!! After having two beautiful baby girls (visit our site :) ) I can totally understand your feelings!! I've really enjoyed your travel stories and pictures..I wish you and Brendan the best of luck, and just remember marriage is the toughest job you'll ever have; but after being married nearly seven years (what a pro) I can honestly say next to being a parent it is the most rewarding job out there!!

I was wondering how you guys were dealing with all the time zone shifts. You'll get back in the groove soon enough, I'm sure.