October 7th, 2018 - PHOBIC

I have had an unexplainable and lifelong phobia of insects and arachnids. Countless small creatures have induced deafening panic in my body and mind. Their exoskeletons, segmented bodies and multitudes of crooked appendages generate uncontrolled fight or flight reactions. However, I of late have noticed that my fears surrounding these creatures are diminished while abroad. Somehow their foreign-ness better belongs to the welcomed palette of unknowns, which encompasses a trip away from home. I took a shower with a Flour beetle in Abu Dhabi recently. It was the kind of mundane insect one would include in a list of typical, yet unthreatening domestic pests, such as the American cricket or moths flirting with street lamps. Nothing too distressing or shouty about it's presence. Not an alarming speed, number of legs, or obvious defense mechanism. I put my wet face close to it, examining its totality. It's tiny legs struggling to stick to the wet tile. A creature which would normally be exterminated with extreme prejudice in my bathroom at home was now being

by my sympathies.