I Have a Secret; a Preface

I have a secret.  Some of my friends know this about me, but many don't.  Mostly, I'm not real good with sharing secrets, mine or others', and this will be a tough post to write. I've decided to share today because there seems to be more and more people out there who are like me.  I have a chronic illness.  It's not contagious and it's not supposed to be progressive.  My decision to write this post comes after a fellow sufferer asked me how I manage to travel and I'd like to answer this question, but in my next post.

In this post, I want to talk about some of my symptoms so that in the next post I can cover how to travel with chronic illness.  Luckily for you (not so much me), my illness comes with a very broad spectrum of symptoms that go with it.  You may also experience one of these, and I have many coping strategies to handle them while you're traveling or even at home.  Some of my symptoms are:

• migraines with light, sound & smell sensitivities
• irritable bowel syndrome with combination diarrhea/constipation/nausea
• allodynia, a touch sensitivity which can affect my skin
• musculoskeletal pain
• fatigue, loss of energy and sometimes brain fog.

I have good days and bad days just like anyone else.  These symptoms don't usually occur all at once, but I do experience them periodically.  I have learned to hide my illness as much as possible and smile through it.  I wear a mask and sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. What people with chronic illness get tired of hearing is:

• but you don't look sick, have you seen a counselor?
• have you tried fill in the blank here with the latest diet/exercise/herb-vitamin
• how do you do it, I just don't think I could handle that
• your poor family

I could go on and on with this stuff.  Yes, I have seen a counselor.  I don't look sick because I don't want you to know.  I have tried diets and some exercise.  I am not a hypochondriac, I am not an addict, I am not crazy and I am not looking for attention.  I don't want to be defined by my disease.  I handle it through the grace of God and the support of my family and friends.  Yes, I totally agree, my poor family.  

According to the National Health Council, there are approximately 133 million people in America who suffer with chronic illness.  This is why I wrote this post and will begin including a few tidbits in the future.  More likely than not, you or someone you know is affected by a chronic disease.  I hope my insights will help!

What's a typical day like?

Have you ever wondered what does a typical day on tour/pilgrimage look like?

Day 1

We will leave Nola airport mid-afternoon on Day 1, have a lay-over in Atlanta (I'm guessing) for a couple of hours.  This gives everyone time to use the restroom and grab a snack or download a book on the airport's wifi.  We will then fly to our destination.  Flight time overseas is typically about nine and a half hours.  On the plane, they will provide earbuds for movies, an eye mask, foam earplugs, a small pillow and light blanket.  They provide drinks (alcoholic and nonalcoholic) and a small packet of nuts or pretzels. About an hour into the flight, they will provide a meal.  If you or your family have any dietary restrictions, you will need to alert our airline prior to check-in (for the rest of the trip, I will notify our company to make accommodations for allergies,etc.).  After the meal, we encourage everyone to get some sleep.

This is what happens when teenagers watch movies the entire flight and are somewhat delirious upon arrival in the airport!

Day 2

Europe is on average seven hours ahead of us so when we land, it will be Day 2 on our Itinerary.  The best way to overcome jet lag is to hit the ground moving.  Trust me, you might be tired, but this is truly good travel planning.  Once we arrive in the destination airport, we will collect our baggage and go through customs.  After customs, we will meet our Tour Director who coordinates buses, hotels, museum entries, etc.  He or she is typically from the destination country and will stay with us the entire trip.  He is the go-between for us and the locals.  In the case of the Pilgrimage, Fr. Sensat and I will assume these rolls.  We may have to wait 30-45 minutes for another group to arrive.  We then board our bus and start our tour of city.  Usually, this half-day is an overview of the city with a few minor stops to get our bearings.  Once we're done with our taste of the city, we will head to eat supper.  Supper may be at our hotel or a restaurant located in the city.  Day 2 is usually an early turn-in after supper.   

Day 3

7am:  Wake

7:30am: Breakfast

8am: Depart from hotel

8-1p:  Walking or Bus tour of the City

1-3p:  Lunch on your own an Free time for shopping or exploration

3-7p:  Walking or Bus tour,  or travel to next destination

7-8p:  Small break before dinner to freshen up

8-9pm:  Dinner

9pm: Coffee shop, bar or ice cream if you so desire, or turn in for the night

During Pilgrimages, we will make time every day for mass which you may or may not choose to attend.  

Please note that European meal times differ from American meal times so you are highly encouraged to bring snacks such as granola bars or other dry snack packages.  You also have plenty of free time for coffee and bathroom breaks.  We recommend you bring a refillable water bottle as well. The price of bottled water can be expensive.

Travel times with wait requirements, flights and layovers can vary.  Dress comfortably and in layers.  One airport may be very hot, while the plane may be freezing cold or vice versa.

How much you walk per day can average 4-6 miles on uneven ground.  Wear good walking shoes that are broken in already! 

Remember this is an example of your trip days and nothing is set in stone even when we are on tour.  Most importantly, be on time.  We will wait no more than 15 minutes, and then you will need to find a taxi to our next stop.

There will be snafus and screw-ups on every trip.  Your attitude will make or break the trip for you, so have patience and have a good time!

If you are interested in going on our next Pilgrimage, click on this link and scroll down to France & Spain Pilgrimages.  We are almost halfway to a full group so don't wait!

Spain & Portugal Pilgrimage 2017

Who are you?

First things first-  Did you miss the Pilgrimage meeting and need the information?  Not sure how to sign up?  Here are all of the resources you need:

Pilgrimage 2017

And on to other interesting topics.  Have I mentioned how much I hate this time of year?  It must be because this is one of the busy seasons for lodging, you say.  Well, not really.  Okay, maybe kind of.  I think it's the beautiful weather.  Seriously, it makes me restless.  I want to go somewhere.  No, I don't want to go down to the Walmart.  Pinterest will have to make do for a while.  <sigh>

In the midst of flood renovations and Mardi Gras, I have also been taking an online marketing course.  Like I have nothing else to do.  I enjoy classes like this since it tells me a lot about how people think.  One of the assignments involved taking the Myers Briggs personality profile.  I have taken this test more in depth several years ago and decided to take it again to see if I had "changed".  Alas, I am still an INTJ, but I lie close to an ISTJ.  And not surprisingly, the rest of our family are all introverted too.  If you're not familiar with this type of personality profile, there are four aspects:

Introverted (I) vs. Extroverted (E)

Intuition (N) vs Sensing (S)

Thinking (T) vs Feeling (F)

Judging (J) vs Perception (P)

Basically, it helps you define how you relate to others, your environment, your intellect, emotions, etc.  It's pretty interesting.  But, you ask, how in the world (get it?) does this relate to travel?  I did a little research and Voila!  According to Neris Analytics Limited © 2011-2016, the three most Introverted countries in the world are Japan, Lithuania, and Portugal.  The three most Extroverted countries in the world are located in the Middle East.  They had this really cool map that you can click on a country and find out what it is.  Most of the countries were only slightly more Introverted or Extroverted, such as France was more Extroverted by only 50.23% and Italy was more Introverted by 52.13%.   In the United States, Washington D.C., New York, and Mississippi were top for Extraverts, while West Virginia, Alaska, and Maine reported the highest percentages of Introverts. And drum roll for Louisiana..... we are reported at 50.08% introverted.  How about that?  Fascinating stuff right here.

If you want to find out what Personality type you are, here is a simple free version of the Myers Briggs test:

Myers Briggs Personality Test

Once you're done taking the test, check out a brief description of each personality type here:

Personality Descriptions

You can then go on to your more in depth, but still free description if you would like more information.

I really enjoyed learning about this information and I hope you can have fun with it too!  Don't forget to let me know what personality type you are!