Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Fighting The Time Change

Hi Everyone,
Welcome back to Prague! My husband and I had a very long trip on Sunday, and we safely arrived in Prague late Monday morning. Our trip was long as it started back in the Enchanted Circle of New Mexico--we traveled from there to Albuquerque on Saturday as we had a very early flight the next morning. From there we traveled to Atlanta, Georgia where hurricane Fay was laying waste! Sunday evening our flight from Atlanta to Prague was almost side-lined due to weather--storms spun off from Fay. But at the last minute, we were permitted to take off--all international flights were allowed to leave when a small window of "good" weather opened up! I guess the domestic flights were held up for a time. After take-off, the weather was not so good--and the ride was very bumpy. The pilot would not even allow the flight attendants to serve our suppers after almost two hours in the air! It was just too bumpy and therefore not safe for anyone to be walking around. I know if they had served our meals, the food would not have stayed on the trays very long! Most of our flight was like this off and on. So, it was a great relief when we finally landed in Prague--back on solid ground once again!

Since our arrival in Prague, I've been battling jet lag in a huge way! This is normal...I don't make the change very easily. The time difference between here and the Enchanted Circle of New Mexico is 8 hours. That's a big change--Prague is ahead of New Mexico. So, now my body is still thinking I'm 8 hours behind the current time in Prague! One of the best ways to fight jet lag is to stay awake (no naps) on the day you arrive, and stay up until a normal bed time hour. Then go to bed, and the next morning, get up at your regular time. Also, getting out into the sun, in the morning, helps to set the body's inner clock to the current time zone. I've been doing all of these, and doing mostly OK, but have still been fighting sleepiness!

Another good way to fight the time change is to eat small meals throughout the day. My body gets mixed up about the times to eat and sleep. I wake up, here, hungry in the middle of the night--which would correspond to a meal time back in New Mexico! To counter this, I eat a small piece of fruit, or a rice cake and cheese (I can't eat wheat and other grains). That is usually enough to help me make it through the night without waking up. The next day, eating small meals throughout the day (and I mean small...not huge 6 serving meals!) seems to help the body to adjust. I usually have to do this for a couple of days, and then I'm pretty much back to normal.

Otherwise, being back in Prague feels pretty good--it feels good to be home. I am missing my family and our dogs, Pal and Jade, quite a bit! That is one of the hardest things about being over here, but we are back to talking every day via Gtalk, so my homesickness will be relieved in that way!

Last week I was not able to make the post about Angel Fire! I will get that done in my next regular post. Angel Fire is a beautiful place to visit!

Until next time, you all have a great day!

God bless,
Sherry :0)

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