Living in a constant state of exhaustion

It is my own medical expert opinion that foreigners in Taiwan, even those who are not working or studying very hard, are usually in a constant state of almost dangerous exhaustion. The symptoms are everywhere. Although most of us try to deny that by showing a mask of okayness to the world and maintaining somesort of appearance of an active life, we fail, and it shows. Sometimes it explodes.

Today was the breaking point for my recently fragile body. It’s probably a combination of a diet that I’m not used to, messed up sleeping routines, weather and overall mental sensory overload here in Taiwan. Going to sleep at around four in the morning, I woke up to Chinese class at eight, feeling that I’m a bit tired but still okay. A few casual yawns and a tired face got me through the two hours, I later went on to sort out finally getting my ARC, and already on the motorbike I could feel that something is wrong. On one of the intersections I met one of my Taiwanese classmates who seemed concerned about how I looked, but I just waived that off saying that it’s the fact that I just woke up too early in the morning. By the time I got back home, my body was in ruins, and with my last energy resources I made it inside only to crash on my living room sofa with all my clothes and bag still on me. I woke up 6-7 hours later, feeling like I was run over by a truck and extremely thirsty, I open the fridge to realize that I ran out of water. I decide that after sleeping for 6-7 hours I’m fit enough to go to the KT-mart and do some shopping. I get to the KT-mart, start strolling around, and suddenly felt like my legs can’t hold me anymore. In the middle of the busy supermarket I sit down on the floor and try to fight the fuzzy spots in  my eye sight. I’m sure some Taiwanese around me were concerned about this strange situation, but they kept away. After a few minutes, I make another attempt at getting back by energizing myself with some fresh orange juice and finally arrive at my home, completely exhausted, crashing down on my bed. Now, almost 7 hours after that I feel a little bit better, but my body still feels like it’s not functioning right.

I try to keep a healthy life, but it’s not easy. I guess it will take some time till I completely adjust, and in the meanwhile – need to take extra care.