We Don't Believe in Jet Lag

This summer, Orane and teammates will be studying the health of tea plantation workers in Sri Lanka. Learn more.

After 34 hours of travelling on what has been the greatest journey I've ever taken, we have made it safely to Galle, Sri Lanka. Short flights from Atlanta to RDU to Reagan added to the one hour drive from Reagan to Dulles International was nothing compared to what we experienced after. We boarded Qatar Airways ready for the daunting 12 hour flight ahead of us. As soon as we were seated and saw the amazing 3d games and 200+ movies available on the flight, we realized it wouldn't be as bad as we thought. Plans were made to watch 3-4 different movies each and play a few games. The flight attendants said otherwise. We were bombarded with chicken, lamb, fish, croissants, Godiva chocolate, cheesecake, and enough fluids to put any person to sleep. I woke up four hours later ready to watch as much of the Pirates of the Caribbean as I possibly could. I found myself deplaning only making it through one entire movie.

Disappointed, but well rested we explored the Qatar Airport and saw playgrounds in the airport (a GREAT idea, given that the first hour of Pirates of the Caribbean included a soundtrack from 2 crying babies one aisle ahead of us). We were filled this time with ridiculous amounts of curry and needles to say, I fell asleep again. When we finally arrived at Colombo International Airport, we experienced a stop in immigration and solved it quickly so that we could begin our 3 hour drive to Galle. We were told of the infamous tuk tuks and drives in Sri Lanka that could make anyone's lives flash before their eyes, but we saw it as overprotective faculty making sure we were cautious-we were wrong. Memories of my childhood flew around as we swerved in and out of traffic, barely missing pedestrians and motorcyclists. Thankfully, we all love adventure and enjoyed the scenic 2 and a half hour drive (it was supposed to be three hours).

Immune to effects of jet lag, we settled in to the most beautiful resort I've ever seen and took pictures of the area. With no sight of sleepiness near, we made plans to take a run. My two other group mates ran for about 5 miles along the small roads that didn't have much traffic (I only made it to 3 miles before giving in and returning to the resort). On our run, we say many stray dogs, a mongoose, and two fully grown Monitor Lizards, second in size only to Komodo dragons. Countless banana, coconut, coco, and papaya trees were also along the route.

We came back and met three medical school students from the UK who told us of how great their stay was at Leijay Resort and of some things to do around the area. After taking amazing cold showers to beat the heat and sweat, we practiced our bargaining skills by renting a tuk tuk to the nearest bank. We exchanged enough currency to last us a few days and then headed to the historic Fort in the middle of Galle. We instantly labeled it "Love Fort", as all we saw were teenage Sri Lankan couples taking in the views of the ocean and historic architecture. We walked around, and ended the evening by holding cobras in our hand.

Back at the hotel, we played cards, made a to-do-list and enjoyed more curry and seafood before heading to bed. Unfortunately, as eventful as our day was, it was only 9pm as we were headed to bed, which is why I am now writing this post at 4am. But not to worry; we do not believe in jet lag. Plans for tomorrow include taking another run, going to the beach, and maybe even riding an elephant before we begin work on Monday.