A spider the size of a kitten

So I've been here a few days and am still trying to master the art of personal hygene... The tools at one's disposal for such maintainence are quite different from those we use at home and clearly take some getting the hang of.

Showers or baths, for example. Sweet Pea has running water at her house and a "shower" with a shower head and all but the water pressure is such that it doesn't really work like the sort of shower I'm used to. So instead one fills up a big bucket and uses a measuring cup to douse one's self with water. It is a method that works (I'm told), but like anything, requires some practice and/or instruction. I've been taking "showers" everyday and definitely emerge feeling cleanER and more refreshed, but not exactly squeaky clean. Also, things are hotter and dustier here so I tend to "ripen" a bit quicker as well.

Then there is the toilet issue. I'll try not to be too graphic here... Again, Sweet Pea has toilet paper at her home, but the house practice is to use water to clean oneself after #1 and toilet paper (perhaps with some water as well I'm told) for #2. So, I was all trying to be native and go with the "when in Rome..." theory. However, I really don't understand the art of managing to splash water on the specific area. And since I'm not exactly a 3-year-old having a real life demonstration is sorta out of the question. Consider the pants that are in the way, the position of the body, arm, pants, toilet, etc. and then the laws of physics... I think I managed to splash down most everything except the particular part targetted.

And then my "monthly friend" came to town while I was out of the house. I won't go into more details... I think you get the picture.

So, at the end of the day I was feeling so... foul. I was hot and tired and felt so grimey and gross. We had dinner, watched a lil' West Wing (on DVD) and then I scampered to a very welcome shower. I was gonna go all out and use a lot of water, a lot of time, a lot of soap and wash EVERYthing - twice.

I filled the bucket and had already gotten myself all wet when I saw it in the corner of the shower area. A spider like no spider I'd ever seen before. It was MASSIVE. Honestly, it was as big as a kitten. Well, a newborn kitten at LEAST - maybe even one that was several weeks old.

I didn't know what to do. I couldn't shower with it there but I was still gross and now naked and wet as well. And I couldn't leave it to escape and breed or return with a host of its friends. I don't like to kill anything, but if I tried to catch it with a cup, slid a piece of paper under it, and take it outside, it probably would have knocked the cup over and then made spit wads of the paper to throw at me. Besides, I wasn't about to get that close to it.

So I took the plastic chair/stool that is in the shower and weilding it like a sword and shield combo, smashed the spider with one of the stool legs. The spider, not killed or even maimed it seemed, started jumping up and down and scurrying around. HORRIBLE!! In a panic I bashed it repeadetly with the stool leg and it was torn into about 5 pieces. Yick.

After the shower I splashed water over it all and tried to wash it down the drain. Despite it being rent limb from limb (and limb and limb) the pieces were still too big to go down the drain.

So there is sits still. I survived, but am now rather terrified of the shower (and whole bathroom area in general.)