It´s time to come out of the closet: I am no longer a vegetarian. Last Thursday was the absolute low point: I ate three different animals in the space of 2 hours.
The phrase ¨when in Rome, do as the Romans do¨ dates back to the experience of St. Ambrose, in the fourth century--even back then, visiting folks had to tweak their own actions to better fit with cultures that differed from their own. For St. Ambrose, that meant not fasting on days when he would otherwise have fasted, because he didn´t want to offend the locals with his piety.
Much like St. Ambrose, I have found it necessary to eat things at times when I´d rather not eat them. Last week was marked by graduation ceremonies all over the country, and I joined Gladys for a celebration in Salasaca. Salasaca is an indigenous community fifteen minutes out of Ambato, well known for the people´s skill in weaving and distinctive traditional dress. The community is beautiful and tightly connected: I felt lucky to be able to spend time there.
Most meals, here and in many parts of Ecuador, begin with bowls upon bowls of mote, which is dried white corn that´s been boiled until soft. You scoop the kernels up with your fingers, sometimes dipping them in aji or salt. While we ate, a flock of chickens put on a little show for us, fighting over long cords of intestines that had been tossed aside by the women making lunch: there was something cannibalistic about it, but the chickens probably thought they´d found the best worms ever.
Hungry? Me neither, but I got served one of the more prestigious bowls of soup--with a whole chicken breast floating in it. Declining that would have been the height of bad manners, so ¡buen provecho, vegitariana!
Ah, but there´s more! Second course was another plate of mote, a nice little salad, and a healthy helping of whole roast pig: as Project folks can attest, the whole roast pig is a special event (this one had, evidently, been trucked in from a town that was even more skillful at pig-roasting), so you know what I had to do.
Piece de resistance: alas, we had to go just when they were breaking out the cuy. Cuy, for the unitiated, is nothing more and nothing less than guinea pig--in the highlands, this animal has been eaten for centuries. Some say it has medicinal properties: there´s a ritual where a shaman rubs a live one all over you before killing it, examining its entrails, and diagnosing you accordingly. That was NOT going on in Salasaca that day, thankfully. But just when you might think it was safe to go back in the water, just when we were leaving before the cuy got served, the hostess presented Gladys with a cuy-to-go bag. So of course, I had to try it.
Believe it or not, my adventures in carnivorous-ness left my stomache utterly unscathed. The irony of it all is that I´ve only been sick once: from the healthy, well-made, vegetarian cooking I did with Gladys yesterday. You just never know what´s gonna flip the switch, I guess.
The phrase ¨when in Rome, do as the Romans do¨ dates back to the experience of St. Ambrose, in the fourth century--even back then, visiting folks had to tweak their own actions to better fit with cultures that differed from their own. For St. Ambrose, that meant not fasting on days when he would otherwise have fasted, because he didn´t want to offend the locals with his piety.
Much like St. Ambrose, I have found it necessary to eat things at times when I´d rather not eat them. Last week was marked by graduation ceremonies all over the country, and I joined Gladys for a celebration in Salasaca. Salasaca is an indigenous community fifteen minutes out of Ambato, well known for the people´s skill in weaving and distinctive traditional dress. The community is beautiful and tightly connected: I felt lucky to be able to spend time there.
Most meals, here and in many parts of Ecuador, begin with bowls upon bowls of mote, which is dried white corn that´s been boiled until soft. You scoop the kernels up with your fingers, sometimes dipping them in aji or salt. While we ate, a flock of chickens put on a little show for us, fighting over long cords of intestines that had been tossed aside by the women making lunch: there was something cannibalistic about it, but the chickens probably thought they´d found the best worms ever.
Hungry? Me neither, but I got served one of the more prestigious bowls of soup--with a whole chicken breast floating in it. Declining that would have been the height of bad manners, so ¡buen provecho, vegitariana!
Ah, but there´s more! Second course was another plate of mote, a nice little salad, and a healthy helping of whole roast pig: as Project folks can attest, the whole roast pig is a special event (this one had, evidently, been trucked in from a town that was even more skillful at pig-roasting), so you know what I had to do.
Piece de resistance: alas, we had to go just when they were breaking out the cuy. Cuy, for the unitiated, is nothing more and nothing less than guinea pig--in the highlands, this animal has been eaten for centuries. Some say it has medicinal properties: there´s a ritual where a shaman rubs a live one all over you before killing it, examining its entrails, and diagnosing you accordingly. That was NOT going on in Salasaca that day, thankfully. But just when you might think it was safe to go back in the water, just when we were leaving before the cuy got served, the hostess presented Gladys with a cuy-to-go bag. So of course, I had to try it.
Believe it or not, my adventures in carnivorous-ness left my stomache utterly unscathed. The irony of it all is that I´ve only been sick once: from the healthy, well-made, vegetarian cooking I did with Gladys yesterday. You just never know what´s gonna flip the switch, I guess.
So, Sonia, who tasted better: Chicken Little, Porky Pig, or the little guinea piggie? hee hee
ReplyDeleteWith shame, I must admit that I found the most intelligent and sentient being to also be the most delicious. Porky Pig, hands down.
ReplyDeleteDennis is so proud that yuo have carried on his cuy tradition this year
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work
I give you credit - I managed to choke down lots of creepy things so as not to insult our hosts in China (pigeon, snake, turtle) but am not sure I could I could do guinea pig. You must watch the Anthony Bourdain No Reservations episode where he eats cuy - I think in Peru. It's pretty amusing.
ReplyDelete