Mosquitoes
After only 2 weeks in Japan, I’ve gotten dozens of mosquito bites. The mosquitoes in Japan are massive, might I add! And thus, leave massive welts on my arms. I even got bit on my eyelid (really, mosquito? Is that the only place you could find on my body?), which proceeded to swell up massively the next morning; I could only open my eye about half way. Aside from the language barriers, my biggest worry in Vietnam is not contracting malaria or even worse, dengue fever. Dengue fever is a growing problem in Vietnam. One of the first things I’ll do upon arrival is to buy malaria pills. However, there is no preventative medicine or medicine after one contracts dengue fever, for that matter. I think I’m pretty well prepared, as Japan (aaah, Japan!) has tons of mosquito combating products. In the US I bought repellent with a great amount of DEET in it. Here, I now am the proud owner of 2 bracelets (that look like the yellow Armstrong bracelets) that will repel bugs for up to 30 days each. In addition, I have this nifty small fan like device (about 2 inches in diameter) that you place some sort of smelly (only to mosquitoes) thing into. When you turn on the fan, it blows out the smell, which will keep the mosquitoes at bay. I also have some wipes that have repellent in them, so I can keep those in my purse at all times. In case I do get bit, I have some nifty round Pikachu band-aid type things that have medicine already in them. (FYI, I’ll be given a mosquito net to use while in Hue).
This may sound extreme, but you just don’t understand how much mosquitoes love me! My friend was wondering why the mosquitoes weren’t bothering him recently. Oh yes, it was because I was the one being eaten alive!
Allergies
The most important thing I forgot to bring on my trip is allergy medicine. I have no idea why I thought I wouldn’t need it. In Monterey, I don’t have allergy problems. In Hawaii, I live off of claratin. I didn’t remember having allergy problems in Japan, so I figured I would be fine, and I only brought about 2 weeks worth of medicine. Since I’ve been in Japan, I’ve been slowly dying. It’s so humid that it’s practically impossible to be in the apartment, let alone sleep, without the air conditioner on. The AC kills me, I’m constantly sneezing and have a runny nose. I think I also caught a minor cold, but who really knows what all my issues are. I’m coughing and have a scratchy throat. Now, I’m really kicking myself for not bringing more medicine. I’ve been miserable for the greater part of 2 weeks, (though I seem to be fine once I’m outdoors, for the most part) and I will not be a happy camper if I have to go on like this for the next 6 weeks.
Humidity
I cannot believe how humid it is in Japan. I feel like I sweat out my bodyweight everyday. I go through at least one towel (Japan has these nifty small towels for this purpose) per day. When I told my friend how awful it was, her reaction was “This is nothing! Don’t you remember August? It’s going to get so much worse.” No, no I don’t remember this! I can’t believe that I’d gotten so used to the humidity.
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