Off frogs and fear!

Dissecting frogs is not as difficult as I had imagined it to be. When I first entered into my First year of Intermediate, I dreaded the idea of owning a dissection box and cutting up slimy forgs and icky cockroaches. It just seemed so cruel and vile even if it was being done in the interest of humanity. However, when the first frog was laid before me, I took a deep breath and started the dissection before I could actually 'think' over what I was doing. It was easy to block out Mr. Pity and Mr. Remorse when I wasn't thinking. Only then would I be able to pluck up the slimy, frail skin with the tweezers and cut through to reveal the flesh. It was a messy job after that... the details are better left unsaid!

I found dissecting cockroaches much more difficult than frogs because, unlike frogs, cockroaches have been terrorizing me since I was very young. When I used to live in Saudi Arabia, my house was often attacked by those little (or should I say humungous!) bugs. We three sisters had 'Cockalaka phobia' . They were revolting, with their creepy legs and dirty color. Even writing about them gives me the creepers! We couldn't sleep a wink without ensuring that the cracks in the door had been completely muffled and gagged by a cloth. After all, if a cockroach was to gain entry in the room his first task would, undoubtedly, be to 'terrorize' us. And we had enough reasons to believe so! The past was full of scary, screaming scenarios. We had learned not to trust the cockroaches in any matter, no matter how many times my mother assured us, "They are probably more scared of you than you are of them! Don't you know they run away from humans?"

So, naturally, when the lab assistant came along carrying a dozen cockroaches, I jumped, shivered and ran to the opposite corner of the room. The cockroaches had been immersed in soap water to get them unconscious and ready to be operated upon. It was judgement time. In the words of hospital nurse, 'Doc, the patient is ready and waiting!'

Ewww! yikes! aaaaahhhhh!Noooooo! Yukky! Ewwww! I just couldn't do it! It lay overturned on a Petri dish (or operating table, if you please! Makes it more cool!) looking scary as ever, even in the unconscious state. It was an ugly, scary sight! I eventually ended up doing the dissection with a friend- standing ten feet or something away from the operating table. I dared to cut up a few legs (sweet, sweet revenge for all those horrifying years!)

Thankfully, it didn't look like a cockroach when its wings and legs had been cut off. I was then able to get nearer to the operation table. Overall, I was pretty satisfied. I had overcome my fear and learned to dissect frogs and cockroaches. What more could I ask for? After going through all that, however, I still cannot understand how frog legs are considered a delicacy in France. Weird tastes.

P.S :s I will not put up a picture of a cockroach! It is disgusting!