A Routine Out of the Ordinary (pt 1)

Any one of my friends or family members from home would say I'm a sleeper.  At home I could go to sleep at midnight but easily continue a marathon of a 12 hour slumber and be completely content.  In between classes at Loyola or before going to the gym or eating dinner, a nap never hurts.  My cat-like character has shifted form once adjusting to my new lifestyle here in Australia.

I was warned numerous times of the tragedy and haunting demeanor of 'The Jetlag', as though it were a disease you caught after stepping foot off of a plane.  My 22 hours of total travel time to get from New York to Melbourne did not seem like a promising prevention to this jetlag.  My stomach flipped inside out at the idea of my sleep deprivation catching up with me.  I was so excited to get to this city and couldn't imagine being too tired to engage in all of the new activities that awaited me.  To my surprise, and the surprise of many others, I suffered from a new epidemic; I call it 'The Anti-lag'.

My first week in halls residences was a busy one filled with O-week, or  orientation week, activities.  We always had things to do during the day but had nights and mornings to ourselves to decide what we were up for doing.  The first few nights, as I was afraid my jetlag was going to kidnap my energy when my guard was down so I tried to sleep early and get a head start.  To my surprise, and later frustration, I could not sleep.  My 10 hour rested nights now turned into 4 hours.  I would lie down at 1 am, fall asleep between 3 and 4 am just to rise wide awake by 8.  For me, this was astonishing.  I would spend my mornings sitting in my room drinking tea and watching the sun rise, something I would normally have to plan my sleeping schedule in advance for.