Jetlag Blues and Festive Kimono

時差ボケのブルースと快活着物

下に日本語で書きます。 This is a post about jet lag, which everyone in this family has recently suffered through.  First, you might ask, What does jet lag have to do with all these  pictures of girls (and guys) in summer kimono?  Not a lot, except that I had just returned from the states when Martin and I took Toby and attended the annual Azabu Juban Festival.  We walked all the way there and back, as exercise is good for jet lag, and I told him to take lots of pictures of the yukata clad girls (and guys) to which he readily agreed.  It was nice weather that night, unlike last year which had an entirely different ambiance with the downpour and all the umbrellas, so he got lots of good pictures.  The other reason I'm glad to show these kimono pictures is that, as Jonah says, "jet lag sucks" so let's try to balance that with some attractive people who are clearly having a good time.

All ex-pat's and international business folk routinely deal with jet lag, but even though experience may help a traveler cope, everyone still has to somehow get through the process.  There's plenty of information out there about the condition, most of which focuses on the phenomenon of time zone adjustment, generally noting that it takes one entire day to adjust to each hour of time zone difference, which is 13 days for us.  It is also noted that going West to East is harder than going East to West because you are losing time.  In my experience, the worst is to go West to East and then turn around and go East to West just a few days later. 

In July, M&J went to Michigan for three weeks and reported these symptoms both ways:  fatigue, insomnia and confusion, but they are young and they got through it okay while traveling, and dug in and slept as much as they needed to when they returned home.  When I went there in August, there was a problem with the connecting flight so I stayed part of the night in a Detroit hotel after arriving from Tokyo and wasting several hours waiting in the airport, so it actually took about 40 hours door to door, and I ended up with a migraine for the first two days of my visit with my parents and siblings.  Coming back a week later, there was no migraine, no pressure or issues, but it still took at least two weeks before I didn't feel tired all the time.

The one who really has it bad is Martin, who, after traveling all the way to the other side of the globe, has to "hit the ground running"  and go straight to work, and do the same on his return.  I just could not do that.  Maybe being an international businessman sounds glamorous, but it takes huge effort.

On the other hand, when friends and family come to visit us here in Tokyo, the excitement and uniqueness of the trip somehow compensates for the jet lag, and they seem to do pretty well.  So, please, don't let the fear of jet lag keep you grounded.

この物語は時差ボケについてです。最近家族は時差ボケを何とか忍びました。でも、まず、どしてこのトッピクと一緒に夏の着物の写真を載せたと聞きますか？そうそう、どしてね。時差ボケはとても悪い感情ので、このきれい写真はいい釣り合いと思います。私はアメリカから帰ったときにトビとマーティンも麻布十番の祭りに行きました。全部の写真はここにあります。その夜の天気はよかったので、去年よりとてもよかったです。去年は強い雨が降ったので、その写真はたくさん傘の写真でした。祭りへ歩いて行って来ました。時差ボケのために運動はいいです。

全部のエクスパットや国際のビジネスマンは時差ボケを処理しなければなりません。経験は役に立つけれど、皆はそれを一所懸命です。インタネットで、たくさん情報であるので、ときに時間帯の調整する方です。毎時間帯に旅行してので、一日をかかるすべきだろうと言います。私たちには、それは１３時間だので、１３日間がかかると思います。そして、西から東までは東から西までより難しいです。私の経験は西から東までに行くことと一週間後にずっと戻すことはとても難しいです。　 　

７月にモニカとジョナはミシガン州に行って、三週間で泊まりました。二人は疲労や不眠症や困惑も訴えたけど、若いだので、旅行するながら、大丈夫に過ごしました。帰った時間で、家でのんびりして、たくさん寝たから、ゆっくり普通な生活に戻しました。でも、私は８月に同じ所に行ったときに、最初の二日はひどい偏頭痛があったので、両親と兄弟の会うことは容易でわない。一週間後に、帰ったの時差ボケは頭が痛いじゃなくて、問題がないけど、まだ２週間でとても疲れました。

でも、マーティンは一番難しいことがあるので、いつも旅行して、仕事からので、目的地に着いてずっとに仕事にしなければなりません。そして、帰るときも同じ状態です。私は時差ボケがあるときに、考えられません。そして、それをできませんよ。インタナシナルのビシネスマンの生活は魅力的のような仕事そうだけど、たくさん努力を要ります。

他方に友達たちと家族たちも私たちに会いに日本に来る時に、それでもなんとか面白くて特別な旅行は償うと思います。そすると、時差ボケの恐れを忘れてください。旅行をしましょう！