A very funny post, Maha. As you know, I lived in Cairo for an academic year in the 90s and I can still remember my shock at seeing my first cockroach in my flat in Dokki. It was enormous! Primitive alpha male instincts took over between me and my two male housemates 🙂 I squashed the thing with my booted foot (no easy task considering it was on the coffee table at the time) but we watched in amazement as it reassembled itself like Robocop and went on walking. So I squashed it harder. Then (here’s a tip) I picked it up with a magazine and tossed it out the window.

I don’t have any problems with spiders and I’m English, so you might have a point there, though it’s the first time I’ve heard that the English don’t mind spiders. My wife hates spiders but she won’t kill one. I trap it under a glass and throw it outdoors. Live and let live, say I… just don’t live in my house 🙂