Baby Emily

Elder and Sister Schramm

Tajamar 171   

Los Vilos (Coquimbo Región)

CHILE     1940000

April 15, 2014 (yes, we did our taxes!)

Dear Kids (and Grandbabies!),                                                                          

I am writing this in the style of an old-fashioned letter.  First I want to say thank-you for sending all the photos and little video clips of the Spring Break Schrammily Reunion!  It looked like so much fun.  I loved that you did all the normal things.  Charlie did an awesome job with a Treasure Hunt; a cake was made in behalf of Teddy Bears Picnic; lots of Pig-out parties (those M&M cookies looked especially good.)  You watched What About Bob & even managed to get the Bartlett Bug!!  Wow!  You went all out!  Did everyone get sick?  Did you send texts to each other all night long with updated statuses on who was in which bathroom etc.?  Also, the painting job on the deck stairs looks awesome!  The trip to Wilmington’s boardwalk and visit to Kilwins Ice-cream parlor absolutely made my mouth water!  I didn’t hear if you made it to Max’s but I’m sure you didn’t lack for food! The pictures of the ocean and clear blue skies are solace to my soul!

Today was a tough day. I guess really we had two hard days. We’ve been waiting for the perfect P-day (Monday) to go to a ‘big-city’ and do some shopping. Dad needs new jeans as his only pair is wearing out and he didn’t bring any ‘work-out’ clothes for our morning walks. I wanted some shoes but they didn’t carry any in wide widths. At any rate, we set out early in the morning to go to the mall in La Serena and Jumbo (Walmart).  About half-way there we got a phone call from the district president informing us that a baby in our branch had passed away.  It was hard to have any fun after that phone call.  Everywhere I looked I was reminded of babies. Your dad had to leave and go back to the car and get out his computer. He spent some time helping the new branch president learn about funerals (Manual 2). The shopping trip was somber and we went straight back home to the church to grieve with others.

We knew the baby was sick and had gone to the hospital. Her name was Emily. She was born Dec 2, 2013. Just 4 months old. I was particularly attached to her because all last fall I was watching Jocelyn (mom) grow her baby and I was thinking of my own daughters back home in like manner.  They have an older son, Sebastian, about 4 years old.  I attended the baby shower. I even won a game! We were each blindfolded and give a piece of paper and pencil. Then we were to draw a picture of a baby. Sebastian chose the best drawing.  Well, having watched a blind person draw (maybe in a movie or on TV?) I understood that if I used my other hand to mark positions on the paper for instance, where I had begun the circle for the head or eyes, I could complete the circles properly.  I did draw a pretty good looking baby complete with pacifier and other accessories! 

One day at church I wore my dress with the red shrug. Jocelyn loved it and I told her I liked her skirt. So as it happened we ended up trading.  I came out ahead on the deal as I was happy to receive 2 skirts in the trade!  Well, where her little Emily arrived she was the cutest baby ever (next to our grand-daughters of course!)  Everything was good and the baby was growing well.  Last month I was sitting in Relief Society and glanced over at a woman nursing baby Emily (and I knew it wasn’t her mom). Turns out Jocelyn had to go to work and so her sister (member but less-active) came and was feeding baby Emily. She has a baby of her own just a few weeks younger and evidently had plenty of milk to spare.

Every week the sisters meet in the church to visit and knit (Tuesday nights). Last week Jocelyn brought the refreshments. She baked apples and filled them with a type of cream filling.  She learned how to knit last fall (okay so it was ‘spring’ here but somehow October just isn’t spring in my mind…)  The next week she came with all these cute baby hats, booties and dresses she had knitted. Last Tuesday she brought a pastel pink dress she had made (for Easter?) and another sister (Bernarda) was crocheting flowers to attach to it.  Everything changed so fast. As I understand it Emily got sick (developed into pneumonia) and when they took her in to the hospital they found that she had an enlarged heart.  It was too late and the illness had been too much for her tiny body and so she succumbed.

I remember all too well the feeling we had when we learned baby Gemma had a heart problem. We are so thankful for the wonderful doctors who took their time and followed proper procedures in a timely manner.  The government healthcare here is a total disaster. We’ve been to the hospitals. We know how it is. So many of our dear members have health issues left unattended. At best they are diagnosed and then told to go somewhere else to a specialist and maybe they are seen in 6 months or a year.  Our RS president lives in constant pain. I know she needs a knee replacement.  She always has extreme pain in her chest and her left arm.  I have told her and she knows how serious it is. She has been to the doctor but was put off and then needed papers to see another doctor etc….  It doesn’t surprise me any longer to see blind, maimed or crippled bodies shuffling down the streets.  And let’s not talk about the extremely high rates of cancer. It’s just scary.

Back to Emily, yesterday the little body was in the tiniest casket. It was satin, all-white with a big bow. They had hung up white, gauzy ribbons and pink and white balloons and had some Xerox pictures of her put here and there in the flowers. There were lots of very beautiful floral arrangements.  It was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do when it was time for me to go look at her lying in her casket. I’m not trying to make this letter really sad but I know you will all understand how precious this (and all) little baby was. She was fortunate to belong to a very, very large family.  There were hundreds of people at the church to offer love and support. Yesterday the dynamics of the cultural hall shifted and changed as people came and went. Hymns were sung, words spoken and love was shared along with many tears.  I’m so very proud of Jocelyn. She wanted to speak at the funeral today and she did an awesome job. She was a pillar of strength even though I understood her to say she had no strength any longer. Dad says that she spoke of knowing that their daughter would be taken someday. She was just totally surprised that it happened so soon and so quickly. She understood that Emily had fulfilled her purpose and she was too good to have to spend any more time on this earth and be contaminated from it.  Yes, she broke down many times and cried into many a shoulders saying “Mi nina, mi princesa,,,,”   She spoke of her arm always reaching out for her baby and now it falls empty to her side. (I’m remembering it as I understood it)  I can still see the tears on her cheeks as she spoke from the pulpit. They honestly looked like diamonds sparkling. She wore a white dress and looked heavenly.  Maybe someday I will be able to tell her how proud I was of her and how she looked like a true mother in Zion, enduring hardship and being refined from it.  I would tell her that someday her children could be as numerous as her tears were these past few days.  But there is much work to do first….like getting them to the temple and sealed forever.  They are both active in the church and he is a return missionary.

People always procrastinate and none of us really sees the beginning from the end of life. We don’t know how long or short life will be. But we do know what is most important.  FAMILY.  That is what it boils down to. FAMILY.  We think there are so many things in this life but if you don’t have someone to share it with then it’s nothing. Not now or in the eternities. When I was young I used to worry about getting to see my father again (he passed when I was 7 yrs old) and my brothers and sisters and living together in heaven. Later, it got a bit more complicated when I my mother remarried and I gained a step-dad and also step (and half) brothers and sisters. Then when your Dad and I began our own family all I wanted was to have our 5 children in heaven with us. Now we have an additional 5 (may I mention they are all fantastic?) kid-in-laws (& their families whom we consider family too) 10+ grandbabies and of course more to come J  So, in our ‘older’ age we are seeing a bigger picture of eternity.  It doesn’t matter too much what type of family we have at the moment because it will always be changing. As long as we are with family we will be happy. I love Heavenly Fathers plan of happiness. I love being a representative of Jesus Christ and sharing the good news of the restored gospel. Of course I don’t always do it very well in Spanish.  I have had to learn better how to communicate through the spirit and right to the heart since I don’t have the words for it.  I really love these people here in Chile. I know I would love the people anywhere we were called to serve, because the love comes from the Holy Ghost who is my constant companion. 

Well time to sign off.  This was much easier to type than it would have been to write it in long-hand as they did back in the olden days. Have you guys started teaching our grand-children about the ‘olden days’? Do they know about hard work? (Like hauling buckets of water (or rocks or you name it) all over the place?) Do you share your testimonies with them? Don’t leave it up to the primary or Sunday school classes or it won’t happen! One thing that never changes is the Gospel so please be sure and instill this precious gift in them while they are young. They will need every bit of spiritual strength they have to have peace and live in a world where so much wickedness abounds. I hope you can feel our love and prayers are with you constantly. We feel yours! 

Sincerely and with much love!

Mama, Schramma, Paw Shaw etc

PS- have you taught them our secret family handshake (squeeze) yet?  Hint: Do you love me?

Earthquakes

An Email from Schramma (Sister Schramm): 

dear fam....

We had only been home for about 2 min (around 9pm) last night when the towns alarms went off. Then the police drove around w/ loud speakers telling all to evacuate.

I could hardly believe it.  We just grabbed our coats and computers and got in the truck and headed for higher ground. We spent time helping get others get situated to higher ground. Then we tried to sleep in the truck until we could go back home (2am'ish) after the hours of danger had passed.  Learned a pretty good lesson thru it all---  I felt like Lots wife because I could see my house down below and just wanted to return and go to bed. There was no visible danger and after listening to the radio reports we knew the big waves would not come this time---  thank-goodness.  It was a very long day but kinda exciting too.

We did not feel the earthquake and it was a calm night so hard to believe. Also not having TV etc--it is surprising when you hear news delivered thru a siren and neighbors etc.  I talked to a neighbor for a min. and could tell she was in 'shock' over it. Even here where they are used to earthquakes they don't often have to evacuate.  Only the parts of town down low near the beaches had to leave for high ground.

Monday (zone conf) the pres. spent some good time covering emergency preparedness in these types of situations. We even and 2 mock scenarios. For the future I will pack a little bag of cloths and snacks and remember water. I barely had time to dump my home-making stuff from my back-pack and put in my computer stuff. No time to think about choosing a pair of pants or crackers etc.  Then dad was honking and I forgot to lock the door (did lock the gate) but we had a good spot to watch over our house....  prob write more on our blog soon!

Tks for all your prayers and calls etc.  Lots of people here did the same and made sure we knew to leave :)

lovies, mama

An Email from Schrammpa (Elder Schramm): 

Email exchange  w/ Tom Saldivar, another missionary couple who are serving about a hundred miles north of us in Monte Patria.

April 4, 2014

Buenos Dias,

How you doing?? Did you feel the shaker this morning around 7AM.  We were just waking up and talking about removing those warm blankets when the windows started rattling then the house started to move.. we jumped out of the sack and grabbed our robes and shoes and went outside.

It was a 5.2 epicenter was in Salamanca..
 

 Check out these stats on seismic activity in Chile... as of two days ago..

Chile has had: (M1.5 or greater)

·       47 earthquakes today

·       68 earthquakes in the past 7 days

·       154 earthquakes in the past month

·       362 earthquakes in the past year

Did you know that there are more earthquakes in Chile than any place else on earth... fun place to live.

We decided we better get a "go kit" ready and keep it by the door.  Water, granola bars,  nuts & raisins, canned fruit, TP, a few pesos... maybe a pair of sox and clean underware...the last item is crucial,  especially if the quake was bad enough to merit using the go kit,  I probably would have messed my pants !!

Take care... mostly just wanted to say "hi"

To Tom:

Ha ha ha.  We updated our go-kit  to include underware after  our  first tsunami evacuation when the 8.3 Iquique quake hit tuesday.  Then we used it the next night on wed. for the 7.9 Iquique aftershock, when we again  had to  evacuate to high ground  Then we had the 7 a.m. shaker (the next morning?) and later that night around midnight we had a real shaker that lasted a long time.  We heard it and woke up before we  felt it.  It sounded like distant thunder rumbling and coming closer and closer and  then the whole house started shaking when  it arrived,  probably for at least 30 seconds.  

Its really amazing how  fast the news reports these things.  The last two we've turned on the radio to see where the epicenter was, to get an idea if there is a tsunami/evacuation threat.  They are literally reporting the location and intensity and everything else  you can think of  within 30 seconds... who felt what itensity, who lost power and who did not, etc..

Sea Monster Mystery!

I have many more photos, but this is enough to tell the story of these strange tracks we came upon, on a deserted section of beach.

These huge claw sets of tracks came out of the ocean.  The were in sets of 4 and about 10 feet apart.  The tracks were pointing perpendicular to the direction of travel.

The came out of the ocean, went down the beach for 30 or 50 yards or so, and then went right back into the ocean.  There were no drag marks like a turtle or sea lion would make.  And the thing was very heavy, judging by how the sand was pushed in the tracks.

Anyone know what these are?

  

We have these horses that wander around town without anyone watching over them.  They eat the grass in the parks and plazas, eat trash out of the trash recepticles, seaweed on the beach, etc.   They poop all over the place in the streets and sidewalks and plaza.  Sometimes we see donkeys wandering around too.  Nobody else seems to notice.  I caught this horse raiding the trash around 10 p.m. one night, right on a main busy street.  I thought it was just the many stray dogs scatering the trash all over at night. This horse has the high trash all to himself.

Starfish at low tide holding hands. 

More on Fleas

We had the house fumigated, so now I only get a few flea bites a day from what ever gets on me during the day walking around.  I had hundreds, for a while there, because I'd get 20 - 50 a day and they last and itch FOREVER, and leave scars that I don't know how long they last.  Your Mom seemingly has only had 2 or 3 the whole time we've been here.  The exterminator guy tells me its because I'm allergic to the fleas' anticoagulant they inject when they bit you, to keep the blood flowing, and she is not.  She's probably getting bit too, but doesn't react.  None of the Chileans seem to be bothered by them.  I see lots of stray dogs that are very bothered by them.  You can't walk anywhere without stray dogs coming up to you, and they're lounging around on all the sidwalks and in front of people's businesses and doors, especially on the main streets.   Its real easy for fleas to hop  off a dog and on to a person.  You'd never see it, they're so small and quick.

I don't feel them biting.  But occasionally I think I feel them walking around under my clothes looking for a place to bite. What do you do when you feel that itchy feeling and you're at someone's house in the middle of a discussion?  They get under your clothes and you can never see them they're so quick and small and blend in to dark colors.

The fleas here are very small. I've only seen two.  They really big ones are the size of a pin head.  They're impossible to kill by rubbing them between your fingers and squeezing or slapping them like mosquitos.  But you can stun them by rubbing them real hard between your fingers so they don't jump away real quick, and then you can smash them with one fingernail against the other.  That is the missionary way.

Its already getting cold again, after only a few weeks of cool (not warm) weather.  When the sun is not out, (most of the time here on the coast except for a few weeks in the summer) its like the Lucky Leaf in winter on a cold cloudy windy day.  The only difference is its the same temperature inside your house as outside, so you never get away from the cold.  This morning when we woke up it was 58 deg. inside the house.  Not too bad.  Sometimes it gets real cold inside.

The people here are very strange to us, when it comes to the temperature.  All winter long, they leave the doors to the church wide open and open the windows in the classrooms because its "too hot", or "too stuffy".  Because the wind blows always, and the way the church is designed like an "H",the wind comes screaming in the front door and down all the hallways and out another door.  They like that when its about 45 degrees inside and out, and they bundle up and are happy.

Then, in the peak of summer, like January and Feb, when the church building (all concrete and stone and ceramic tile finish) is just warming up to about 65 deg or so (you'd think they'd be boiling if 45 is hot to them in the winter, right?). But in the summer, they all start complaining about 65 deg. being cold and they turn on the heating system till its about 80 inside, and they still complain about it being cold.  But they still leave the front door wide open (65-70 outside). They will never turn on the heater in the winter no matter how cold it is inside.  "Its not good for your health to have warm air in the winter", and "there is no reason to waste all that gas."  

We have quit trying to close doors and windows to keep the temperature moderate, because within a couple of minutes someone will open them. Its like trying  to stop the tide or the wind.

Imagine the sensory experience of hundreds of these.  They last about 3 weeks.

February 23

23 Feb 2014 Thurs.  Spent the day researching addresses and looking up inactive Elders and prospective Elders.  In the evening I drove to Illapel for district Presidency meeting while Carolyn stayed in Los Vilos.  On the way home, around midnight, I pulled over at the top of the mountain pass to look at the stars.  It was an unusually clear and dark night… dark except for the Milky Way with an unmistakable swath of bright white from horizon to horizon… and except for the trillions of other stars everywhere.  I have not seen a sky like that since camping as a kid in the back country of New Mexico when at that time there was little light pollution and other forms of pollution to block the starlight.  It is absolutely awe inspiring to see the heavens here on dark, clear nights. 

I can only begin to imagine what the view is like a few more hundred miles to the north of Chile, in the high desert where some of the most famous telescopes in the world have the clearest view from anywhere on earth.  That is because they are so high, and the desert there so dry (some places have never recorded any rainfall, ever) that the air is crystal clear, giving great views of the heavens. Wowzer.  

Ben and I once stopped in the Wyoming desert around 2 a.m. on our way to Utah, to look at the stars in the dark sky there. (Maybe it was Calvin.  No matter.  One of them can witness that it was a great sight that they will probably remember for a long time.)  Anyway, the difference between the dark sky here and that, is like the difference between the Charlotte NC sky and Wyoming.  (In Charlotte, there is so much humidity and light pollution that you only see a few of the brightest stars).  

Awesome.

February Update ~ Schramma

It is an interesting summer in Los Vilos. Since many of the vacationers arrive here from Santiago there is a larger number of ‘fair-skinned’ people with light eyes here. Evidently the Europeans were a big part of the early settlements of Chile, mainly in the southern parts. They became the wealthy land-owners and businessmen.  They are pure Chilean but look different than those here in the small, northern towns and country.

Here are a few random thoughts---

Transportation: Most do not have personal autos so they pay for a collectivo or taxi if it’s too far to walk or they have too much to carry. It’s important that they live within walking distance for daily life.

Housing: No urban sprawl here!  Even though there is lots of undeveloped land here (mountains and coastal) the towns remain very compact. People live with & on-top of each other.  A small dwelling will rent for ($200-300/month). They are very tiny casas. It is normal for the renter to remove everything before vacating, including any light fixtures, curtain rods, kitchen cabinets etc. Everything goes-

Technology: They all have and use internet (Facebook is huge here) and cell phones but they never seem to have enough calling minutes. Since an in-coming call is usually free or greatly reduced in cost, they like to receive calls but not to make them.  We find it interesting that the tiny houses hold upwards of 3 TV’s each. It’s common for every child to have their own electronic devices, including TV.  TV’s are one of the few things less expensive for purchase here.  All the movies (Disney included) and music is pirated but cheap. It is nothing to see hundreds of DVD’s in a box under the TV.

Utilities: don’t seem very expensive but they do monitor how much electricity & gas they use. They keep lights turned off and since most own at least one HUGE big-screen, they don’t leave them on unnecessarily. If they run out of gas they just shower in cold water. (We’ve enjoyed that experience on occasion)

Healthcare is government run (and very bad!)  The hospitals in all the towns are dirty and horrible. Everywhere you look you encounter maimed, crippled and blind folks and children. Diabetes goes un-attended and cancer is rampant!

Taxes are a flat 19% and are always included in the price of the item so there are no add-ons when you check out, except that you need to tip the bagger-kids and the bum who ‘helps’ you park your car in one of the 6 parking slots, if you’re shopping at the largest grocery store in town. (Unimarc)

Food is pricy but if you shop at the street feria, then it's a little cheaper (no receipts).  Everything from food and clothing to toiletries to office supplies is about twice what we would pay in the states.  As far as the clothing goes, even if it is a used item (think DI or Goodwill) if it’s in good shape, then it’s pricey. They love any clothing w/ European or American Brand names or words.  There was a woman at church wearing a T-shirt (dress standards are much more casual here) and on it written was: “I’m not knocked-up ~ I’m just fat!  She said she didn’t care what it meant, but that she liked the colors. I’ve seen men wearing Lady Viking’s and pink Susan G. Kohlman Mammogram shirts.  (And to think it used to bother me wearing black clothing with brown shoes or accessories, not anymore.)

Fleas: we know first-hand are miserable, little critters There are so many stray dogs roaming that it’s easy to get them and hard to get rid of them. People normally just put up with them and wait out the 2 months of summer, and then the cold temperatures put the fleas back to sleep for another year. We had our house ‘bombed’ yesterday to kill them.

Everything is very tiny here:  You purchase Cake by the piece, flavorless gum in super tiny packs, sheets of paper individually, and milk (no refrigerated milk here) in cartons from 1 to 3 cups. You drink yogurt. They don’t give you ‘twist ties’ on anything but rather tape packages shut or staple them.

List of things I’ve learned recently:

You can re-use dental floss. One-day contacts can be worn for up to a week. Saving things like empty TP rolls, wire from a used spiral notebook, nails found in the street, or any plastic bags is good. They can be used for other purposes and save you money.    These things don’t exist (perhaps they do in the big cities):

Clothes dryers; Curly Ribbon; Corn Syrup; pretzels; chocolate candy (it’s all only the flavor of chocolate & heavy on the wax)….well I could go on and on with this list but this entry is already too long. 

Next time I will write more about our gospel experiences and things that really matter, like how we are growing and changing our lives and (hopefully) others J   Love to you all! C-

February update ~ Schrammpa

5 Feb 2014 Wed.  Kelly and her Mom Mirella and one of Kelly’s old childhood friends, Luis came to Los Vilos to visit today.  Kelly and her Mom were baptized in Illapel soon after we arrived in July of last year.  

They arrived arrived around noon while we were still in our weekly district meeting with the missionaries.  Carolyn left to attend to them.  They decided they wanted to cook us almuerzo (lunch, but more like a big dinner).  Almuerzo is a big, formal affair every day.  They went and bought some fresh reineta (a mild, popular fish) and were busy cooking up a feast when I got home around 2 p.m.after the meeting.  

They called and told me my job  was to buy lemons on my walk home from the church. The chileans will always have fresh lemons on the table for almuerzo.  They squeeze them on everything. They had the table spread out with colorful food, mostly vegetables like tomatoes, cucumbers, corn cut off the cob, avocados, honeydew melon, prickly pear cactus fruit (called tunas).  The tunas are FULL of very hard seeds.  They say they’re good for your digestion and clean out your pipes.  The fish was wonderful.  The best reineta we’ve had, and we’ve had it a lot here. Luis, Kelly's friend, is not a member of the church but a very very nice guy.  

Afterwards, Kelly, Luis and Mirella walked along the beach in our back yard.  People from the "interior"  (the country is only 50 miles wide here so its not very far inland) or inland, like to come to the beach here because the weather is always about 20 deg. F. cooler than up in the mountain valleys.  We often get cold here on the coast, with the stiff, cool ocean breezes. The latitude is like southern california, but it stays very cool all summer. I don't think the temperature has gotten above the 70's in the day, and at night it goes below 50 at times. 

I went on visits w/ the branch president in the evening.  He seemed excited to go this week (maybe these visits are helping him get excited about getting out and visiting his “flock”) He seems to be listening to the things I’ve been telling him he should do.  He surprised me by telling me several things he had done (finally), such as dividing up responsibilities within his the presidency and making assignments to his counselors, setting up meeting schedules for presidency meeting, PEC, branch council, etc. Wow.  Just when you think nothing is going to stick. 

He also picked (on the spur of the moment) some very good people to visit, because they were all needing a visit for one reason or another:  Pete, a YSA who has been missing in action lately, Danny, ex missionary, recently married, 3 kids, on church probation needing interview which was arranged, Mary, new convert and her non-member husband we had never met.  She was suffering from a panic attack/ and severe depression and migraine and looked terrible.  Pam and kids, who was mad because when the missionaries went over to help her move a couch they told her they couldn’t go in (due to a mission rule) because her husband was not there and she was home alone (I guess her 3 kids don't count).  She sarcastically asked if WE were sure we were ALLOWED to come in. Pres. Alfaro gave her daughter a written copy of her patriarchal blessing. She’s only 12.

It is amazing to see how the Spirit of the Lord works with the priesthood leaders here like in any other place in the world. The branch president is a small old fisherman with little schooling who walks with a limp and has little self confidence in himself and little experience leading and directing others.  Yet none of that matters to the Lord.  He is the one who has been called to preside over this little branch of the church, and it is plain to see that the Lord inspires and directs him to reach out and accomplish his purposes.  Does he even realize it?  I don't think so, yet.  But I can see how the Lord does inspire him despite what others might say are many shortcomings. The more he tries, the more I see that he is inspired.

16 Feb 2014  We were in the middle of a family night when President Marambio called to see if we’d felt the earthquake that was quite a jolt in Illapel and he’d heard that the epicenter was Los Vilos.  It was about a 5 magnitude.  We did not feel it.  But we did hear a guitar in the other room fall over when it hit.  It was leaning up against the couch on the wood floor.  These 4 and 5 richter scale earthquakes happen all the time here.  We’ve felt 4 or 5 in the 7 months we’ve been here.  If I look on line, they are happening almost daily somewhere within a couple of hundred miles of here.  No one really pays much attention to them.

Since the weather has warmed a tad (from freezing to just cold), I’ve been plagued by flea bites.  Hot humid climates have mosquitos.  Here, cool and dry, I don’t think I’ve seen a single one. But they have millions of pulgas....fleas. You rarely see one, except the bite they leave.  At first I thought they were chiggers, because the bite and tremendous itch are very similar.  They leave a big welt, sometimes the size of a quarter.  Now I know they are flea bites.  They are so small you hardly ever see them.  I’ve only seen two. 

They are pretty darn aggravating, especially when you get about 50 bites in a single day.  There are millions of stray dogs all over, and they are flea bags.  You cannot walk anywhere without passing these dogs, and so it is very easy for fleas to get around and hop on your clothes without you seeing them and start munching.  Later you start feeling all the bites. Some people are allergic to the bites (me) and others are not (Carolyn), though she gets bit too, she rarely sees or feels it.  I am about to go crazy. 

One of the Elders gave me a flea collar his uncle sent him.  There are no flea collars here.  The Chileans don’t seem to be bothered by fleas, just the gringos.  This Elder said he no longer is allergic to fleas and they no longer bother him, but when they did, he would hang the flea collar in his closet and the smell would get on his clothes and keep the fleas off and from biting.  Hey, I’m willing to try anything at this point.  I had one in my fleece pajamas once and it bit me about 20 times in 20 minutes before I figured out what was going on.  I never found the bugger.  They can burrow down in thick material and even survive a washing that way. I put my PJs in a pot of boiling water.  I’m sure that got him.

Calvin had problems on his mission in one apartment in Italy with bedbugs.  He sent a picture of he and his companion covered with bedbug bites.  That is what my arms and legs and neck look like, only they’re flea bites.  At least there is hope.  Hope for colder weather.  Hope that I will become immune.  Hope that they get rid of all the stray dogs.... well, not much hope in that.  They love their stray dogs here.