"Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite." I know my mother told it to me each night before bed until I was about six years old. I used to lie in bed imagining big red and blue bugs crawling underneath my sheets.
After waking up with about a dozen tiny bites all over my arms, I think it's safe to say that bed bugs aren't the gigantic, colorful creatures I once imagined them to be. Instead, they're probably closer to a miniscule size, and probably aren't a cool color like red.
I knew something was wrong when I saw the first bite, but I foolishly decided to ignore it. During orientation, the housing department stressed that anyone who found a bug bite on them had to come forward immediately. For some reason, this sage advice did not sink in. I sat in class for several days, trying not to scratch myself too much, for fear that I would be labeled "the dirty girl."
Several days after the first bite, one of my roommates came forward and admitted that she too had the bites. She wasn't as nonchalant about the situation as I was, and brought us to the housing department right away.
After housing made its decision (discard the infested mattresses and sheets, replace them and clean the entire apartment) we thought we were in the clear. But then this week the bites started to appear again.
Although I think that it's a little bit gross to admit this to the AU community, I feel the need to share my story. Getting sick, whether it is with something like a sore throat or bug bites, is not fun in a foreign place. I never realized how spoiled I am by everyday conveniences like my doctor or CVS until I started scratching the mosquito-like bites.
Just like at AU, going to the doctor is a process. First, one must scour the English Yellow Pages in search of an English-speaking doctor, or at least a doctor who can understand the complaint. This is a harder task than it seems. Luckily, the second time this problem occurred the housing department took control of the situation.
The doctor spoke some English, but it was hard to communicate to him exactly what was wrong. He had never heard of a "bed bug" before, and eventually just prescribed my roommate and I some kind of anti-itch cream and heavy duty bug spray to spray in our apartment.
While everything was taken care of in the end, I still couldn't help but feel some sort of deja vu back to freshman year of college. Everything takes constant getting used to, and the little conveniences of home are suddenly taken away. But these adjustments are just another part of the experience of traveling. My advice to those who encounter problems (that hopefully aren't as revolting as mine) is to stick it out, and in the meantime, apply bug spray liberally.
