It will soon be time to pack my bags for a long-haul flight to Asia. I am a bundle of nerves before long-haul flights across several time zones because they always give me jetlag. A long-haul flight, as I have explained before, is a flight of 12 hours or more. If you are a bundle of nerves, it means you are very nervous and worried. It takes a month of Sundays for me to recover from jetlag. A month of Sundays means an extremely long time. Some people are not affected by jetlag. They should consider themselves lucky.
My long-haul flight will begin in Los Angles and end in Taiwan, my first stop during my Asia trip. Hong Kong is my second stop. There is now a 16-hour time difference between California and Taiwan. My stomach, sleep pattern, and mealtime will have to adjust to this time change. It takes a month of Sundays for me to adjust to time changes, which is why I am always a bundle of nerves before a long-haul flight. Health experts say jetlag affects most people, but they can minimize the effects by doing some simple things.
They should drink a lot of water during the flight, avoid heavy meals and alcohol, and take a short walk upon arrival. I don’t eat a lot on planes, but I do enjoy having whiskey or wine while watching a movie. I will be flying business class, which means my seat can turn into a bed. I always try to sleep at least a few hours during long-haul flights. Seeing friends in Taiwan and Hong Kong will help me stop worrying too much about jetlag.
很快又到我收拾行李，搭長途機（long-haul flight）往亞洲的時候。每次搭乘長途機（long-haul flights）橫越幾個時區之前，我往往緊張不安（a bundle of nerves），因為那會令我有時差反應。 正如我之前解釋過的，a long-haul flight就是航程達12小時或以上的班機。若你是 a bundle of nerves，意即你很緊張、擔憂。要克服時差，我往往需要 a month of Sundays—— a month of Sundays的意思是很久很久的時間。有些人不會被時差影響，他們應該慶幸自己運氣好。
我的長途機（long-haul flight）會始於洛杉磯，終於台灣，就是我亞洲之行的首站。香港是我的第二站。加州跟台灣有着16小時的時差。我的腸胃、睡眠模式、吃飯時間，通通要因應這樣的時間轉變而調節。我適應這樣的時間轉變，要很漫長的時間（a month of Sundays），因此我總是在搭長途機（long-haul flight）前緊張不安（a bundle of nerves）。健康專家說，大部分人都會受時差影響，但他們可以做一些簡單的事情去減低那些影響。
他們應該在飛行期間喝大量的水，避免進食飽滯難消化的食物及酒精類飲品，抵埗後走一小段路。我在飛機上不會吃很多，但總喜歡在看電影時喝些威士忌或葡萄酒。我會飛商務艙，意味着我可以將座位轉為卧床。我總是會在長途機（long-haul flights）上嘗試睡上幾小時。能夠見到台灣和香港的朋友，有助我不那麼擔心時差的問題。
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Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻
