It's near 5:20 am in Bishkek and I can't sleep. I'm exhausted and have been trying to get rest for the past few hours but I keep having mosquitoes land on me, either be about to bite (at which point I roll over to swat them) or they actually bite (at which point a fierce itchy begins and I must use all my discipline to not scratch).
The cold that initially greeted me upon my arrival here has lifted, and given that I do not want to invite further mosquitoes into the flat by opening window that lack screens, I find the air retains much of the warmth from the day. This would be rather pleasant if I wasn't wearing long pants, a long sleeved shirt and socks in my effort to cover as much skin as possible to avoid them. Even those efforts however are somewhat in vain, these mosquitoes are large and persistent and not to be discouraged by things like a mere layer of fabric or mosquito repellent. I think they welcome the challenge. I've gotten bites between my toes, on my fingers, on my face and anytime I roll up my sleeves I find their marks greeting me. As such a thick blanket is welcome as it provides enough of a barrier that I don't get bitten. It also is really warm. And as someone who usually craves feeling the cool side of the pillow, this is rather counterproductive to the other current aim of sleep. I've yet to figure out an effective balance.
Prior to tonight I was at a hotel two blocks away which magically had no mosquitoes and also because their window faced away from the mosque, the complimentary 5:30 am wake up call could be avoided. It seems out of the crew I am the favorite for the mosquitoes as they flock to bite me while they merely buzz around the others lazily. Not sure why but I'm not flattered by their attention. It is most unwelcome. Anyways, I'm going to try to sleep a little bit before the flat gets filled by the rest of the team beginning work in a few hours. Luckily during the day the mosquitoes seem a little less active than during their night time raids, so perhaps I can try napping then?
By the way - the score of Mosquitoes Urvi Has Killed versus Bites Urvi has Received started at 3:7 when I began this post. The score is now 6:7. I'm catching up. If you try to bite my face, I will kill you. I am not above smacking myself in the face to avoid scratching my face off later. Just saying.
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