Christmas?

1:30am I have just turned off the lights and am about to go to sleep. A small but ever-increasing buzzing sound prevents me. I think it will disappear but it continues. When I realize the sound is not a scooter passing by, I turn on the table light, fumble for my glasses and scan the off-white walls for any telltale signs of... Mosquitoes.

They have been in my room all night. I squashed a few before going to sleep, while doing my homework, but there seem to be more. I had put some citronella-scented oil on my body but apparently that does not faze this one.

Now, I can't find it anywhere. I lie back in my bed and try to sit still, using my face as bait to entice it to come closer. When I hear it, I sit up and look around. No sign.

The pattern repeats itself a few times, until I really start to fall asleep waiting for it to come back. I look at my clock. 1:50. I have the option of either a) lighting the citronella incense and smelling up my clothes and room or b) waking up tomorrow morning covered in bites. I choose to light the incense.

When I wake up the next morning, I don't want to get up. Today is Christmas after all. But for all the Christmas lights and brightly colored storefronts, for all the Christmas jingles playing at convenience stores for the past few weeks, there is no vacation called Christmas here.

Culture shock hits hardest on days like these. I try to just forget that it's a holiday but I can't.

I did go to a Christmas party after my class. A party for the campus reporters. They made me sing jingle bells and play secret Santa, and took photos of me eating Kentucky Fried Chicken. I made a mental note to no longer attend school Christmas parties.

The day was grey, and colder than yesterday. After the Christmas party I came home and tried to catch up on sleep, until I heard the buzzing sound of a mosquito which woke me up. So I got up, ate some leftovers and watched a Simpsons rerun on cable TV. Then I did my homework. As day turned to night, it started to get cold.

At least the mosquitoes are gone.

PS The photo shows a racket to kill mosquitoes which my landlord lent me. It uses a small electric shock (he has since taken it back).