Sean helps the situation by laying on my couch and waving the electric racket around swatting at mosquitoesIt is perfect mosquito weather in Changzhou which means it is time to break out the giant net for my bed and dust off the electric mosquito racket. There are mosquitoes everywhere in my apartment and they are driving me nuts. They bite me while I am working on the computer, while I am in the bathroom, while I am watching TV and when I am in the kitchen. At night, I see the tiny silhouettes of their bodies clinging hopefully to the side of my net waiting for their next opportunity to suck blood.
I am amazed at how many there are that actually make it into my apartment. They must get in through the small holes or vents as these apartments are not exactly airtight. But the sheer numbers has caused me to redouble my efforts in extermination. First, I bought a fan to keep the air moving in my living room which seemed to help a little bit. Second, I bought another mosquito racket to keep upstairs next to my bed. Third, I bought some small chemical plug-ins that I put near the door. Lastly (and my favorite) I bought two bug zappers - one for upstairs and one for downstairs and they are, quite frankly, fantastic. They emit bright purple light and it is incredibly satisfying to listen to the loud shocks caused by bugs being electrocuted to death. It feels like a little victory at the sound of each and every zap. Even so, I have lots of bites all over and am attempting reducing the itch factor with traditional Chinese "Tiger Balm." I am hoping that my recent efforts to reduce the burgeoning mosquito population in my apartment will pay off soon or I may have to set up a net around my desk.
In other news, basketball season is officially over and we did not make it to the finals. We did, however, have a banquet to celebrate anyways tonight which was pretty fun. All that remains for Sean to remember the season now are his new shoes, pictures and of course the long red scratch on his face that he got while playing in one of the games.
He speculates that the scratch is from a long fingernail of a player on the opposing team. In China, it seems pretty common for men to have one or two long fingernails. I have asked some Chinese people about this and I never really get a straight answer. Usually they respond with, "Hmm.. I guess they do... I have never thought about that." I did some searching on the internet and found that there are two main reasons: to show high status (if you have long fingernails you do not do manual labor) and practicality (ear/nose cleaning, letter opening etc.). I liked the extensive and creative list that WikiAnswers provided.
Regardless, Sean is not exactly thrilled to have a nail slice down the side of his face. I told him to clean it well - after reading that list I guess you never know where a Chinese man's nail has been. Perhaps while playing basketball in China you not only have to look out for flying elbows but flying fingers as well.
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