Through My Eyes…Returning to the USA (Part One)

Happy Monday everyone! As I’m writing this I’m back in the States, battling a pretty severe case of jetlag. But as I’ve been outside of the States for 3 months, coming back has been a transition. Here’s some of my thoughts, and if you’ve had a similar experience, maybe they’ll help you~~

1. Customs/Immigration
I’ve had to go through immigration/customs, I think 11 times this summer. And let me tell you, that has never been one of my favorite parts of travelling. I have had countless visa problems over the years, that I always get nervous when I step up to that counter. Thankfully this summer I didn’t have any visa problems. I did have some weird looks and long lines overseas, but I was really shocked that one of the officers in the States was the rudest to me. I understand that they have a lot of people coming through the terminals and that they need to keep order, but that doesn’t justify barking at someone just because they don’t know where to go. I imagine that my nerves were a little worn by the time I did get to the States, as I had travelled 27 hours, but still. If an American feels more comfortable and welcomed in a country other than her own, I think that’s a problem. (But the encounter with the officer did teach me more things, probably to be discussed in another post).

2. Lines
If you’ve been anywhere in Asia (and probably other places as well), you’ve most likely experienced the jostling that comes with standing in lines. Not only do the lines quickly become a huge mass of people, but if you don’t fit for your position, you quickly end up at the back of the line. This summer, I brushed up on my staying-in-line techniques and used them a lot 🙂 but once I came back to the States, the amount of personal space that you get in lines as well as the non-competitiveness was really nice.

3. Sound…or the lack thereof
While large cities have noise all the time, in America, if you live in a town or outside of the city limits, it actually gets quiet at night! There’s no dogs barking, no calls to prayer, no buses driving full speed down your dirt road.

Since I’m really tired, thanks to the lovely jetlag, that’s all for tonight, but more thoughts on transition will probably be coming soon!

Tips to Overcoming Jetlag as Quickly as Possible

From the age of 3, long flights across the world have pretty much been a part of my life. With flying long distances inevitably comes the dreaded jetlag. So today, I thought I’d blog about a few tips that I use to try and get over jetlag as quickly as possible, because really, who wants to sleep all day when you’re in a new place with tons of things to see? And if you happen to be a person who doesn’t love traveling…maybe this sunrise view out the window of my last flight might give you an incentive to fly 🙂

1. Drink lots and lots of water! (both on the flight and once you arrive)
There’s a reason that they offer you a lot of beverages on long plane flights. Your body gets easily dehydrated. Surprisingly enough, dehydration makes it harder for your body to adjust to a new time zone, so it’s really important to stay hydrated. Try to stay away from the carbonated beverages and such, as those don’t really help to hydrate your body. Water is the best option.

2. Try to use the flights and layovers to start syncing your body up with the new time zone. So…if it’s 1am in the morning wherever you are landing, it’s a smart idea to try and sleep rather than watch a movie on the plane, despite the large selections that they have nowadays on flights. Similarly, if you are flying and will be landing at 5pm, try not to be sleeping too much the last few hours of the flight before you land.

3. Eat as healthily as you can on the plane. I know it’s hard when you don’t really have a choice in what to eat, but let me tell you, airplane food has improved so so much, even in just the last few years. I used to barely touch my tray of food, and on the last few flights, I’ve eaten just about everything. It really does help though, if you feed your body foods that are good for it and not just feed it all carbs and sugars. Meals usually have some salad or fruit on the side, make sure to eat that. And you’re not obligated to finish everything, so leave the extra roll or stash it away for when you might be hungry on a layover. Basically, don’t weigh yourself down too much during a meal.

4. Have activities planned for the first few days you arrive in a new place, so that you don’t waste that time lounging around, sleeping, and getting yourself even more jetlagged. I’ve found having a fairly full first day, and then an activity or two planned for the next few days is the best option for me, so that I do have a little down time  but not too much that I waste the days.

5. Get a good night’s sleep the first night at your new destination! Sleep does wonders for your body, and is pretty necessary for survival. Plus, sleep usually makes people less grumpy. Bring your favorite pill, download some white noise, buy earplugs, but make sure that you’ll be able to have a restful night’s sleep once you get off the plane!

They might sound pretty elementary, but those are my top five tips for overcoming jetlag. If you’re traveling somewhere soon, I hope they help!

 

P.S. For the foodies reading today’s blog, I just had some ice cream that has become my new favorite summer desert. Get a bowl of vanilla ice cream and add some thin slivers of nectarines to it. Mix it up for a semi-healthy, refreshing, and absolutely delicious dessert!