In which Tim eats something nasty...

On Sundays I like to go down to the cock fighting ring to see what's going on. Men come from miles around to fight their respective roosters against each other, so it is a good way to get news from outlying communities without having to walk too far. The fights can also be entertaining. Not so much the birds themselves. A couple roosters slashing at each other with plastic claws is a little bit disturbing. No, the entertaining part is the people. The scene is one of men of all ages (sometimes a woman or two) crowded around a pair of chickens, jumping up and down, yelling vulgarities at the top of your lungs. I am told that the louder you yell, the better it is for your birds chances of winning. I have not tested this hypothesis.

So last week I was down there, and my friend was eating his lunch. Dominicans are very sharing people, and often get offended if you don't consent to taking a few bites off of their plate if you don't happen to be eating at the time. It is a nice custom. On this day, my friend was eating something I did not recognize. I could tell it was part of a pig. I hesitated, due to my preference for the meaty parts of the animal that are NOT usually used in the making of sausage. He told me it was really good and had a lot of vitamins. So I took a bite.

I can unequivocally say that it was the most disgusting thing I have ever put in my mouth. After biting through the outer membrane, I came to a mass that was neither liquid nor solid, and completely black. It tasted like poop. I stifled my gag reflex, and asked my friend what it was. He laughed and told me it was the pig intestine filled with blood and then boiled. Disgusting. I thought I would throw up, so I grabbed his drink to wash the taste out.

I thought I was grabbing a glass of orange juice. One gulp, however, made me feel like I was levitating. My friend laughed even louder, almost falling out of his chair. He could tell from my wide eyes that I had not expected the orange juice to be quite so strongly "flavored." I asked him what was in the glass. "Claren!" he laughed "Haitian Moonshine!"

Lesson of the day: No matter how long you have been in a given country, find out what you are eating (or drinking) before digging in.

In which Tim comments on Swine Flu...

I logged onto the web today to check email, and I was bombarded with messages from friends and family asking me about this swine flu that seems to be all the rage in America right now.  I promise, my health is fine.  I have no pig related illnesses. 

I deal with pigs all the time.  I chased one out of my yard this morning.  I've never gotten sick from them, although I see how one could.  If I spent my time handling pigs at close quarters (which many of my neighbors do) and neglected to wash my hands (which is common around here) I would expect an illness much worse than a little bit of flu.  Pigs are dirty and rude.  Any illiterate Dominican peasant could tell you that.  They are not at all like the fluffed up little things you see in movies like "Babe".  America seems shocked that these animals could be carrying disease.  

We shouldn't be surprised when we consider the fact that we make these animals live packed together in cement boxes, wallowing in their own feces and eating food that they were never meant to eat.  And when they get sick, we pump them full of antibiotics, killing weak viruses but possibly allowing stronger ones to thrive.  I am no scientist, but this sounds like an ideal situation for the evolution of new forms of disease.

I guess I don't see what the big deal is with the pig fever.  This thing is all over the news, but fewer than 500 people have gotten sick.  I think only one person has died.  When was the last time you read a news story (or a twitter post, for that matter) about the 15 million children who died of hunger last year?  Maybe we should talk about that instead.  Or maybe it would just make us feel bad about ourselves.  It's not quite as exciting as sick pigs.

Regardless of how uncomfortable we may be in talking about it, world wide deaths from AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and good old starvation are many.  Let's tone down the talk about the pig flu and start solving the real problems.

Regarding meat on Sundays...

My neigbor doesn't go off to work every day.  He has a little piece of land, and does some carpentry for his friends, but mostly he just hangs out.  He does work pretty hard on Sunday mornings, though.  

On Saturday nights a large pig is delivered to his house.  At about 7 AM on Sunday I wake up to the sound of very loud squealing as said pig is in the process of having his or her throat cut.  The pig is then shaved, quartered, butchered, and sold to whoever wants some.  The meat is still warm when I start to cook it.

The killing of the pig is a real community event.  Everyone comes out to stand around and chit chat as we watch the guys do the cutting.  Someone usually brings coffee.  There is almost always a little kid who grabs the tail of the pig when it is cut off, and runs around whipping people in the ankles with it.  It is pretty funny.  The dogs also gather, probably because of the delicious smells.

Watching the butchering is not easy on the stomach.  I won't go into details, but I am sure you can imagine.  It has helped me to realize how sterilized a life we lead in the USA.  We go to the store, or the farmers market, and buy our meat wrapped in plastic, and cut into convenient slices.  We don't really have a picture (or smell) in our head of where it has come from.  It is just a thing that we buy, cook, and eat.  Maybe we should try a little bit harder to understand the things that we are putting into our bodies.

I don't think it is wrong to eat meat.  I have just come to believe that is important to understand the process.  The truth is that the pigs here live pretty happy lives.  They stay outdoors, roll in mud, and usually get to wander semi-freely.  And when they are killed, it is a pretty quick death without a lot of suffering.  And the meat has a really good flavor.  I'd love to show you the whole process when you come visit.