Dealing with no sleep, full time placement and being a tourist on the weekends

On my International placement I found out how hard it is to stay focused on the placement and not become burnt out. firstly the workload is heavy, It was a group placement so 2 2hr classes of bridges, squats, weights etc a bit like going to a gym each day. Secondly you are in a place where you have never been before and cannot just drive to get somewhere. The busses had no numbers and the destinations were in another language, they had no schedule and half the drivers were illegal immigrants therefore missed stops to prevent getting caught. Then there’s all the touristy things beckoning you to do them… like climbing a famous mountain on the weekend then having work the next day. Or going to a beautiful island only to get badly burnt and yet again having work the next day i.e. trying to do bridges with a sore back. Lastly when you did get to bed, there was no such thing as quiet, either street kids, markets or the call to prayer put on loud speaker throughout the city around 12 and 5. Basically it was all work, all explore and no sleep. Along with the rich food, this caught up me in about the 3rd week. From there all the patients were annoying when they didn’t do the work, or the kids saying hello to you (very cute) was just really repetitive and I was half asleep and sick the whole week. I finally decided I had to do something otherwise I would go through the rest of my placement missing everything due to no sleep. I ended up one night putting ear plugs in, skipping dinner, not doing any preparation and going to bed at 5. I had to make the decision to put a basic need before going to the markets or staying up to talk to all the different backpackers. By doing this the next day I perked right back up. I sought out western food the whole day and from there I was fine both energy and stomach wise. I know that this will apply for the first few years of working, although there may be times when you want to fit more stuff in you have to realise sleep and looking after yourself is essential to put in the long haul.