The plight of my mysterious "amiguitos"

With over two weeks being back from Xix, I have a daily reminder of my cheerful trip to the far away town in the mountains. While the memories remain pleasant, I can't say so much for their reminder. Since then, I have woken up every morning to an irritatingly uncomfortable itching sensation that increases daily as red bumps line my legs, stomach and arms. It's as if my bites are the microscopic form of the mountainous ranges of the Nebaj area that introduced these buggers into my life. That may sound poetic, except I'm red, itchy and down right annoyed.

My first thought: bed bugs. So coming back from Xix, I isolated my bag in a corner of the room and took everything to the cleaners as soon as possible. We have no hot water in my house, so the washer is basically useless for solving the problem.

Still, the bugs were feasting while I was fast asleep.

Next stop, the doctor. I went to a nice private hospital to figure out what exactly I should do. I could keep going by trial-and-error to see how I could get rid of them, but that costs money. The doctor examined my bites and said I have fleas. I thought fleas were just for pets? She also looked at my head to make sure I didn't have lice. I felt the humiliation kids do on their first day of camp during head-checks. Thank goodness I was lice-free.

So I asked the doctor what to do. She instructed me to clean all my clothes, bedding, etc. in hot hot water. Fine, but what about the mattress, I asked. She evaded my answer, telling me I have to get rid of it. There is a spray, she said, but it is toxic to use. I kept pressing her for the name of this toxic spray, since I will be away this weekend, but she would not give in. I felt a sense of dread, not knowing how to completely get rid of my fleas. It would be a vicious cycle of cleaning my clothes, but the bugs would stay and keep biting me. To make me even more stressed, she said if I don't fix the problem soon, I could get an infection from being bitten so much.

I walked out of the office, wanting to cry. I get to the register to pay for my visit and they told me with the medicine, my total was 500Q. The sound of 500 made my heart sink. Even though that's about $60, the price just sounded so exorbitant. I walked out on edge, with tears running down my eyes. Now, of course, I could have thought rationally. I could have easily asked someone what the spray is, called an exterminator or just bought a new mattress. However, I was in the middle of a panic attack, and rational did not quite register. I'll skip the details of my hysterics, but I did eventually call the exterminator.

He came to my house yesterday 2 hours late, and told me I did not have fleas or bed bugs. It's some other bug that stays in the ceiling and walls and comes down to feed while I'm asleep. He says it probably came from Xix. Well, whatever this bug is, tomorrow he should be arriving at 8 in the morning to fumigate my room. This morning I lugged my entire wardrobe and bedding to the cleaners thanks to the help of my nice coworker. He carried the heavy bags, and I struggled with my pillows and blankets.

Wish me luck! Hopefully tomorrow I will be free of my "amiguitos." I have no need in my life for "little friends," I am small enough as it is!