Travel Fatigue

I am tired. Very tired. I really am not trying to gain any sympathy here because I know, I know, I can't really complain about traveling. And I'm not complaining. It's just that fatigue colors your experience. How you see the world is affected if your eyelids are propped up with toothpicks. Fatigue also shortens tempers and makes people more irritable. Melissa and I have discussed how we are both exhausted and I feel that our awareness of this is going to help keep our friendship intact. Traveling takes quite a bit of energy. It is exhausting. Even if you try to slow down the pace, you are in a new city every four days, you're constantly trying to adapt. The minute that you get used to lay of the land and saying "please, thank you, hello and good bye" in the local language it's time to move on. I've said "bitte" and "danke" in Italy and "grazie" in Spain. So I'm basically an idiot. I've gotten enough looks to confirm that. Eating out is also exhausting. Often times, it seems that you get meat and carbs and nothing else. Your body begins to crave fresh vegetables and home cooked food. Our first day in Barcelona, when we were finally in a hostel with a kitchen, we went to the grocery store and made a massive salad. We then ate that salad for breakfast and dinner for three days.

Sleeping in hostels is also fatiguing. I can count on one hand the number of good sleeps I've had since I landed in Europe two months ago. One never knows what sort of bed you will find. Will it be a bunk bed? Will it be a sturdy bunk bed or will you feel it sway with the breathing of the bunk mate below? Will the mattress have a creator? What sort of pillow will you find? We have had some that you have to fold many times for support. In Budapest, we had lumpy throw pillows from the couch. We have been fortunate not to encounter any bed bugs, mostly because Hostelworld allows you read reviews of a hostel and regardless of how great a hostel sounds, if there is one review concerning bed bugs, you move on. How many beds will be in the room? We have started to try to find smaller rooms. First, you can actually know the people that you are sharing a room with. It is a bit disconcerting to be in a room with 12 other people and not know their names. There is also much less racket and activity with fewer people. Most importantly, your odds of getting a snorer drop. What is the hostel etiquette with snorers? They disrupt everyone else's sleep. Sometimes it's not bad. Sometimes it sounds like a semi truck downshifting in a tunnel. Some have Bose radio technology and can fill the entire room and you can't determine the sleep thief. Perhaps that is a defense mechanism that the culprit has subconsciously developed as it picked up on all of the evil vibes hostel mates were sending their way. But what should be done? Do you wake them and say "Hey buddy, this is ridiculous, roll over"? Does that just make them wake up and they fitfully try to return to sleep, avoiding lying on their back so then no one gets any sleep? One girl preferred to just yell, "shut up" at the person which really just made the whole situation worse. Another girl we have met travels with a bag of pennies and throws them at the snorer, hoping that they will roll over to avoid the irritant so that she will be able to cease the copper fire. However, then people are rather confused the next morning and wonder "Why am I 17 cents richer than when I went to sleep? Surely I'm better than that."

I am also really looking forward to a good shower on my return. I have created an extensive list as to what constitutes a good shower based on many terrible showers. The water should be quite warm with good water pressure. The temperature should be adjustable. I recently encountered a shower in Barcelona that had a knob that needed to be turned like a combination lock to get hot water. Unfortunately, I did not realize that I needed to crack the code to get hot water. I had a very cold shower. I would turn the water on just enough to get wet. Turn it off and then turn it on long enough to rinse off. It was a rough start to the day. Another thing we have encountered is the shower that needs to have its button pushed every 40 seconds. I'm not sure how that conserves water. We've also heard of a shower where you pulled the string and a bucket of water was dumped on you. A shower should also be adequately lit. I'm definitely not going to shave my legs if I can't even see my hand in front of my face (yes this is after I've put my contacts in) That is hazardous. I could fillet myself. The shower head should be firmly attached to the wall. I don't want to hold it or have it dance around. A shelf in the shower for toiletries is a bonus. A hook for your towel outside the shower radius is very important. The door to the shower should close, a lock is even better.  An area to change into your clothes outside of the shower, a small anteroom with a hook or a bench for your clothes is also quite nice. I really don't want to give a free show and scar others. Shower size is also a consideration. If you can do the chicken dance without touching a wall, that is big enough. I don't need to do the Macarena, just the chicken dance.

I am enjoying traveling. Everything has positives and negatives and you just have to appreciate things for what they are. I love staying in hostels. It's cheap, there are many cheap activities offered through them and most importantly, it is an excellent way to meet people. Yes, the sites are a good reason to travel but the people you meet is truly what traveling is about. The good hostels usually have kitchens and common areas to chill in.  After two months of traveling, I am really ready to go home. I miss my family and friends. I miss my dog. I miss being able to have a home and to relax in my home environment. I miss cooking. I also really miss my job. I love being a nurse. I am really excited to return to my nursing career. I love caring for patients. I suppose this is the perfect vacation if it makes you realize how much you love your job. I also love my country and am looking forward to returning to America. I've been ready to go home for several weeks now but I'm here and I'm going to make the most of the situation. I will admit that it is pretty easy to make the most of the situation when you wake up in fabulous places like Italy or Spain. But the countdown to home has begun. I'm going to have many things to be thankful for and will be overwhelmed by how blessed I am when I sit down for a delicious turkey dinner on Thanksgiving.