The Monster (2008)

12/1/08

"Well! Last week of class, huh?" :)

These were the first words uttered by my professor in my 8 AM class today. Usually slouched half asleep in my usual corner seat right next to the exit, that just woke me right up.

Last week of classes. Next week, finals. And then, the end.

An end to one and a half years of my educational career at Thunderbird. Wow. Sure doesn't feel like it. Time flew by.

"So! For those who were here just for school and will be leaving Arizona soon after. What memories are you taking with you?"

One by one, the students started sharing their thoughts.

"Thunderbird."

"Heat!"

"The T-Bird bond.."

"Cactus!"

"The Grand Canyon."

An then the professor looked at me.

"Lizards."

That earned me a few chuckles from the professor as well as students around me. They thought I was kidding. Heh.

I liked Arizona when I first arrived. Not as much as California, but it was still not bad. Things were going smooth. I liked the culture of the campus which was a unique blend of Arizona and the global mix that was our student body. I had put Arizona at the same rank as Michigan in my mind. Just two weather extremes.

And then came summer. And with it, the arrival of something that I hadn't thought of. Lizards.

All sizes, all colors, all shapes.

If there is one thing on this planet that creeps the hell out of me, it is lizards. I was not prepared for that onslaught. They were everywhere. On the ground, on the walls, everywhere. Even more than back in Karachi. I remember seeing a lizard once in my room there. I slept outside on the sofa for two nights until my mom asked our driver to come in, kill the lizard, and show me its dead body as proof before I would even step my foot inside the room.

There were no lizards in Michigan. None. Hence I had this false sense of security that I will never encounter those dreadful creatures in this country. How wrong I was! I remember having recurring nightmares all summer where I was being chased by gila monsters through a never ending maze of giant cactus. I would wake up with a jerk, with cold sweat breaking all over my body.

After dodging them left and right and not going out of my dorm until it was absolutely necessary, I finally got an internship in Houston and flew out on the first flight I could get.

Yup. That's the most powerful memory about this state I will be carrying out with me in a couple of weeks.