Insecticide

One result of living in a warm and humid climate is the prevalence of insects. To combat it, people use insecticide. With the low cost of manual labor, most houses have maids. Being use to exterminators, I rarely think of spraying for bugs or about insecticide. These items came together in a negative way several days ago.

Coming home from work, I entered my room and inhaled. Yes, inhaled a deep breath. That deep breath smelled like lavender and made me cough. This was the start of my problems.

Smelling the lavender, I thought it was air freshener. After putting down my bags, I headed to the kitchen to find the maid. She did not understand air freshener but did understand that the lavender smell was too strong. She has trouble understanding me and I have trouble understanding her, but I thought we worked it out.

I, still thinking it was air freshener, went back into the room, changed our of my work clothes, organized, stepped out to breath and cough, took out my laptop, and turned on the air conditioner "Wow, this air freshener was really strong" went through my head several times. Thoughts about the maid trying to make my room nicer with a scent that made me cough also entered my head. Then, I started to make fun of perfume smells. All of this, as I was coughing. Never did it enter my mind that I needed to leave. Air freshener is meant to be smelled. Large quantities might annoy the senses but should hurt the body, should they?

Another severe fit of coughing send me back to the maid. She thought she had sprayed too late in the day and went to open the window. I asked her not to spray again and got drink of water determined to not let the smell bother my day.

After wasting time in the living room, I thought the room must have aired out. No, no, no, it had not. Opening the window meant she opened the curtains. This did not let in any fresh air. The open door let the smell out into the hall. I had another fit of coughing just passing by the door. Window and door finally open, and probably letting in small bugs, the room could finally air out.

Realization finally dawned on me, it was not air freshener. The maid had sprayed my room for bugs. The bug spray in the can smells like lavender. I was inhaling insecticide thinking it was air freshener.

Two days of sore throat later, I rationalize that spraying insecticide in a room is not normal for me. This makes me feel better as I nurse my injured body. The result of lavender bug spray, a maid trying to do her job, and an oblivious American is burning in the throat and no bugs.