Spiders, Snakes, and Scorpions...Oh My!

Upon leaving the bathroom, I found the two American girls who I had met in the research building waiting to talk to me. They reintroduced themselves as Miriam and Marie. They were friends and neighbors from Pennsylvania who decided to come to India together. Miriam, 19, had taken a gap year before college and was going into her sophomore year at Vassar. Marie, 21, was about to be a senior at Brown and has already spent 3 or 4 months in northern India on a study abroad trip.

They welcomed me further to SEARCH and I launched into a million questions about the daily schedule, the bathrooms, etc. I then asked them the question that weighed most heavily on my mind: what was the bug situation? I had already seen the gecko in my room, and lots of ants, worms, and beetles. I needed to know what else was out there.

My biggest concern was snakes and spiders. They confirmed in the positive to both of these. Great. It wasn't bad enough that the rooms were bare and the toilets were squat, my worst fear would be a reality. I needed to know the details- the what, where, and when. I wanted to know colors, shapes, and sizes, and their specific locations. I wanted to know frequency- was this a daily occurrence, a weekly occurrence, or a night-time-only-when-you-are-in-your-bed-alone-in-the-dark occurrence? They said there were mostly small ones, but then described a cobra-esque snake they had seen. My knees felt weak. They said the men at SEARCH would always come running and take care of the situation. As long as you used a flashlight when walking at night, you should be able to see anything before it sees you. They said the snakes, the most dangerous kinds, were slow moving, and usually moved away. When they started to explain the difference between poisonous and non-poisonous snakes my head began to spin. Please g-d, I prayed, do not let it get to the point where I have to decide if the snake is poisonous.

They explained to me that there were never bugs in the bedrooms, at least there shouldn't be. Every time they had seen something major it had been outside, mostly in the road or along the edges of a wall or building. Then they told me how they had just recently seen a cockroach right outside their bedroom. Yet, this wasn't a normal cockroach. This was a cockroach the size of one's hand. They said it was more amusing than scary though because it was flipped over on its back and couldn't turn itself upright. Ha. Ha. I wasn't laughing.

Just when I thought that things weren't too bad...snakes, that are usually small, not in the bedrooms, being "not that bad"...they told me there were scorpions too! Flashback: who remembers the scene in Hook when Captain Hook locks a pirate inside the "boo box" for doubting him and then drops scorpions into the chest? I am forever scarred by watching this scene as a young child. You can watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCx-M8dcDhk. I in no shape or form wanted to see a scorpion. No way, no how. No thank you, Mister! "Why do you guys keep adding things to the list?" I inquired and smiled. I tried to make light of it, but I was pretty upset. I told everyone at home that the thing that scared me the most, more than the heat, or the unclean water, or the food, or the distance, were potential creepy crawlies that would prey on me in the night and eat me alive. Miriam and Marie reassured me again that they had never seen such things inside the bedrooms. Fine then. We'll see about this.

Within my first week here I have seen everything they have mentioned, except for giant cockroaches. I've seen the snakes, spiders, and scorpions, and it turns out there are also bats, and I've seen enough giant ants, beetles, june bugs, centipedes, moths, newts, and geckos to last me a lifetime. Here is a rundown on the most notable:

Spiders:
On the first night here I saw a big spider outside my bedroom door when I went to go in for the night. It wasn't a baby or small spider- at home I usually don't get freaked out about these- and it wasn't a daddy long leg, tall, but harmless. It was a bona fide spider. Now, it wasn't a tarantula by any means, but it did have some meat on it and a bit of fur and big eyes. We moved it away from the door and Miriam showed me how to use a blanket to seal off the bottom of the door at night. Luckily, that was the only scary spider I have seen since I've been here.

Snakes:
In the very first afternoon I was at SEARCH, when I was outside the bedrooms meeting the other girls, we saw a snake. It actually wasn't that bad. From Miriam and Marie's descriptions I thought all the snakes were going to be huge. Maybe it helped that I was with six other people at the time, but honestly it wasn't that scary. And like they had promised, it was 20 feet away. I have seen this same snake again on last Saturday afternoon (I was by myself and I didn't even scream, just pointed it out to the first person to walk by) and again just this very morning while reading outside the bedrooms with the other girls. They only kill the poisonous snakes around here, so that is why Mr. Snakey keeps lurking around. His mug is up top.

Scorpions:
Last Thursday when we walked up the main SEARCH road to meet the van that would take us out for the day we saw a big black scorpion...but it was dead! Crushed in the road by some hero! This has been my saving grace. To see something dead allows one to study it and examine it, get to know its features, become familiar with it, and be an ounce more prepared in the event of a live viewing. This is exactly what happened to me. On my second night at SEARCH I headed towards my room, about to place my foot on the ground, and baaaam! Big black bug. Wait, not a bug. Small baby scorpion. "I think there's a big bug outside my room, I think a little scorpion!" I yelled. Marie and Miriam came running out of their room. "Here, this is what the men do." Marie lifted her foot and...crunch!...the thing was dead. I didn't look at it that closely, but I could tell from its shape and tail that it was a scorpion. Seeing the much larger, dead one on the road put seeing this baby scorpion in perspective. If I hadn't been prepared, or forewarned, seeing this baby scorpion might have been enough to send me home.

It's inevitable that I will see something bigger and scarier- a larger snake or scorpion or a giant cockroach. I just hope that g-d continues to prepare me with baby steps...more dead animals please!...and that if I do see anything else, it's 20 feet away and moving in the opposite direction.