Bite Review

Luckily I have been blessed with skin that for some reason is repulsive to Mosquitos. I can count on one hand the amount of bites I have receieved for the 2 months we´ve been away. I don´t wear insect repellent and don´t go to any great lengths to prevent insects from breaking into my room at night. They just don´t like me.

Karen however is not so lucky. Mosquitos LOVE her. Her milky white skin is an irresistible destination for all passing bloodsuckers and she is relentlessly bitten all day and night. Obviously I feel very sorry for her ( . . . secretly relieved for me . . .) and try to be as compassionate as possible, but that is not enough for Karen. Karen wants me to know the exact location of every single bite she has. She will place her limbs or part of her torso as close to my eyes as possible and point out each individual bite saying, "look, look at that one, bas-tuds!" At this point she will look up from pointing and give me a look that indicates I have to give her my opinion. Now, these bite review sessions can happen anywhere, on a bus, waiting at a station, even at meals and as a result there are usually quite a few witnesses who, when Karen looks to me for an opinion all do the same. . . What do you say? Wincing whilst sympathetically saying, "Oooh baby" or "Ouch, nasty one", just gets boring and I think everyone knows this. Maybe they´re hoping I´ll give them a new option for when they´re in a similar situation in the future, but each time I fail, mumbling, "oooh baby" and quickly try change the conversation.

(this post has now been corrected . . . thanks Dot)