I’m told that malaria is not usually as much of an issue in the highlands, where Mutare is, than in the rest of the country. Most people identified iwith malaria in and around Mutare have recently been in the lowlands, and are presumed to have been exposed to it there.
My experience with mosquitoes has been in the US Midwest, where the hotter and more humid it is, the more mosquitoes there seem to be. Here it’s a bit different. I got about four bites my first week, then only one in the next three weeks. However, when the evenings began to get a little cooler (in the 70’s in my apartment at bedtime, as opposed to the low to mid 80’s), the mosquitoes seemed to proliferate. I’m not sure why that would be—I didn’t notice any difference in the amount of rain we were getting or anything else that would account for it. Maybe mosquitoes like it in warm apartments on cooler evenings. Along with the proliferation of mosquitoes was news that within a two-week period, three people I know (2 from home group/Bible study and one who is the owner of the garden restaurant I’ve been to twice) got malaria without leaving Mutare. That has people a little concerned.
My pastor’s wife, who was over at my apartment, pointed out that I had a mosquito hook on the ceiling (I didn’t know that was what it was), and asked if I had a mosquito net. I do—it had been sitting in the bottom of my closet ever since I got here. So I got it out, stood on my rickety chair, and used one of my very expensive hangars as an extension to get it onto the hook. Sleeping under it took a little getting used to--it usually touches the top of my head, and that felt like something was crowding me the first couple of nights. It holds heat a little, so I'm glad the nights are a bit cooler. I must admit that since I've been sleeping under it, I do a lot less bug slapping. I thought you might like to see what my bed looks like with the net on it. I call it my “princess bed” and think of Carla’s daughter, Lexy, when I look at it!
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