Sleep Tight, Don't Let the Mosquitoes Bite

Ok, Ok, I hear you! Based on the number of inquiries I've received in the past week, it sounds like we have some serious blog addicts here! It's nice to know the blog has such a loyal following!

Yes, the blog is still alive and well, and I'm still in India and doing fine. Between having an extremely busy week at work, trying to get settled in my new home, and no longer having internet access from home the way I did at the hotel, blogging unfortunately fell by the wayside. Then, just when I was ready to post again, Blog-City took the site down for upgrading. The last 4 days, even though you all could view the old entries, I could not post anything new. I am still not able to post any pictures, and I'm not sure if you'll be able to add comments yet. I hope it all gets fixed soon, because I have lots of photographs to share.

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Sleep tight, don’t let the mosquitoes bite

The transition from the Park Sheraton womb to the real world has been full of challenges! I have this warning to anyone thinking of setting up house in India: Nothing will be easy. Nothing will get done right the first time. Expect to spend a great deal of your time on follow-up.

Take the case of the mosquito netting.

The first week in my new home is mosquito hell. I start each day with a fresh batch of mosquito bites from the night before. I keep all the windows closed as much as possible, but there are some that have small gaps even when closed, and an entire exhaust vent that it's not possible to close at all. I try to close up the small gaps with scotch tape (the only tool I have available) but it's like bailing out the ocean with a sieve. I buy a mosquito coil (a pyrethrin-laced contraption that you light and burn, which is a popular way to deter mosquitoes here) but when I read the label I find a long list of toxic side effects associated with breathing the coil fumes, so I reluctantly decide against using it. I think about getting one of those nets that you can drape over and sleep under, but I would have to walk around the house in one of them, so it doesn't seem like a practical solution. (Though the image of spending my year in India draped in mosquito netting at least makes me chuckle...)

I swear, they only bite Americans. I have yet to hear an Indian complain about mosquitoes, or even see a single mosquito land on them. I think it's because they can't handle that spicy Indian blood. Bland American blood is probably much tastier for them.

I spend most of each night on mosquito patrol. Just as I start to doze off....zzzzzzzz.....it lands on my face. Or my leg. Or my arm. I get up, put on another layer of mosquito repellant, try to go back to sleep. It takes them only a few minutes to find a vulnerable spot -- the soles of my feet, my ear, the back of my neck. If I had a bathtub, I would fill it with Deet and spend the night in the tub. In the middle of the night, while waiting for the next one to land on me, I ponder mosquito evolution. Why are mosquitoes so stupid that they actually announce their arrival with all that buzzing? Wouldn't it be to their advantage to just land, and get on with the job? (Dale - any insights into that evolutionary significance?) On second thought, maybe they're not so stupid, maybe all that buzzing is just a scam, because even though I can hear them, I have a very low success rate of actually swatting them. In the dark, I swat myself so many times that I'm afraid someone will think I've been beaten up when they see me in the morning!

Lying awake, I calculate that it takes one mosquito seven bites of my blood before it becomes satiated and leaves me alone for the night. At least until sunrise, when it's ready for its breakfast again.

After several nights of unsuccessfully trying various deterrents, I check into having mosquito netting installed on all the windows. Two guys show up, measure all the windows, give me a price quote (which was much higher than I expected, considering they are just attaching a thin piece of netting with velcro) and say they will come back tomorrow between 12:00 and 2:00 to install it. I wait all day, until 4:00 pm. No-show. They leave me three numbers, none of which turn out to be functional. "Something took longer than expected," they say, when I finally reach them. The next day, one guy shows up, starts work on one window, and says that this is a job for two people, and he will have to come back with someone else tomorrow. (They didn't know this when the two of them were measuring and figuring out an estimate??) He also finds that velcro is not sticking to the cement surface, and they will have to drill wooden strips into each window. He promises that they will come back tomorrow at 8 am sharp to do the job.

Mosquito not come through gap. 100% guaranteed, will not come in, he tells me, in broken English. I'm thinking: Is there some kind of electrical mosquito fence here that I don't know about?

In my broken Tamil (actually, it's more like my 20-word-vocabulary Tamil) I argue, illai, illai, kettadhu! I'm sure I must sound like a moron, repeating, no, no, bad, bad, over and over again, but my frustration level is rising exponentially as I realize that I paid good money to create brand new gaps for mosquitoes to slide through. But they just come back with: 100% guarantee, mosquitoes no come. Totally frustrated and dreading the thought of another night spent in mosquito hell, I go upstairs to chill out. They've had the windows open all day while working on the netting, so my bedroom is crawling with mosquitoes, which doesn't help my frustration level. I'm relieved when Suresh calls me to ask how things are going, and I explain the problem to him. He says, I will call them right back and take care of it. When I go back downstairs fifteen minutes later, the workmen have just finished talking to Suresh. I have no idea what he said to them, but whatever it was, it worked: "100% guarantee mosquitoes will not come in gap. But we want madam satisfied, so we come back tomorrow, fix it. The next day, they come back and, with some additional prodding from Chitra (she seems like such a sweet person, but you should hear her give someone a scolding!), finally finish the job.

That night, I have a blissfully happy sleep without a single mosquito in my bedroom. Now that's something to write home about...

--# of places (windows and vents) where a mosquito can enter: 19
--Blood capacity of average mosquito in my bedroom: 7 bites
--Cost of mosquito netting: 5,200 rupees (about $115.00)
--A good night's sleep without a single mosquito bite: priceless

Good night, sleep tight, and don't let the mosquitoes bite, ok?

Comments

[Lesley]

Basia! we missed your Blog! I heard that you don't have to worry about the mosquitos that make a buzzing sound because they can't bite-you only have to worry when it is quiet : )

[Ron Walker]

Basia, we were worried about you! First you were under the weather, then you disappear... Glad you are alive and well.

[Shannon]

I had to laugh at how you described Chitra. My friend, Agita is the same way. She is the most reserved in words and actions, but when she is discplining Sai, he minds her, really fast-- I wonder often, what she says to him. Very effective! Glad to hear from you- I was missing you!