“Ughh, sääsed!”: The Summertime Menace

Aug 20, 2021 Estonian Life No. 33 2021

It's an unmistakably Estonian summer experience. You're sitting around the fire as the sun lowers in the sky, and just as you remark on how lovely the scene is, the six-legged monsters move in. It starts with one. It bites the back of your neck without so much as a “palun” (“please”) or a “kas ma võin teiega õhtusöögile tulla?” (“may I join you for dinner?”).

No, these beings are sly. They land quietly on your skin and poke through with their proboscis without you even noticing. Then their pals stop by, based on the recommendation of the last visitor. News spreads fast about good blood.

Then another person around the fire gets a bite. “Ughh, sääsed!” they grumble. Someone will likely talk about how these insects go most of all for the host with the sweetest-tasting blood. Or the youngest, depending on what fable you've heard. Pretty soon, everyone is getting bitten, except for your dapper friend wearing the impenetrable denim of a Canadian tuxedo, along with that enigmatic individual who never seems to get bitten at all.

Note that I called them sääsed. Once you get acquainted with that Estonian word, saying “mosquitoes” will somehow never compare.

Written by Vincent Teetsov, Toronto

“Ughh, sääsed!”: The Summertime Menace

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