Tonight, we went to Ivanhoe, the well-known neighborhood in the Melbourne area for its Christmas tradition of decking out all of their private residences in Christmas lights. Everyone seems to know about the neighborhood, and people come to park their cars early and walk over and do the street walks to admire and take photos of these Christmas decorations and lights, some of which take an entire week or two for families to put up.

What I wasn’t anticipating during this walk was that the mosquitoes (or “mozzies,” as Australians call them) would come out from the bushes and grass and feed on my vulnerable feet and ankles. The entire walk around the neighborhood resulted in about nine mozzie bites for me, and I was itching like mad the entire time. It doesn’t seem to matter where I go, whether it’s Malaysia, Cambodia, anywhere in the U.S., or Australia – these blood suckers are always attracted to me, and never even once has Chris been bitten in my presence. What does it say when mosquitoes are always attracted to you and never the person next to you?