Sleep is Underrated - Jay

I have found it difficult to sleep in Fiji. It really shouldn't be that way, as I have been very active during the days, have stayed up late enough to be tired, an have consumed enough beer to push me into exhaustion. Its not getting to sleep. Its staying asleep.

When we first arrived, we decided to sleep without air conditioning. I mean really. Almost none of the local people have air conditioning... We should be able to handle it. Wrong. Wow was it hot. And I mean sticky hot. Like 80+ ad 100% humidity inside hot. So hot that it was hard to breathe much less sleep. We now use the air conditioner...

To try to cool it own at night, we keep the windows open so air can flow through the house. But in with the breeze comes with it mosquitos. They are not always visible coming in. bit they are there. We know that because when we awake in the morning, we all have welts from where the bugs have been feasting during the night.

Additionally, I am sometimes woken by that buzzing sound that you get in your ear by a mosquito. bzzzzzzzzz... I know its somewhere close to my face, but I cant do anything about it. Do I get up and turn on the lights to hunt for the little bugger? Or do I spray excessive amounts of Deet around the room? We now keep the sleeping room closed during the day as well as spray a little extra repellent before we go to bed.

Finally, the sounds. In San Jose, the nights are fairly quiet. Your occasional car driving by, but that's about it. Here in Fiji the sounds are sometimes unrecognizable. Certain cars... Yes. People taking... of course. Dogs barking... sure. And then you get the odd tropical birds, the bats, and other animals. And then there are the noises that the rains bring. the pitter patter on the metal roofs. The crackling of the wood expanding and from the moisture. And many other sounds that I cannot rationalize in my brain, thus my mind spins out of control keeping me awake.

Between the heat, bugs, and sounds, I have not yet found the formula for a deep night's sleep.