Saturday, January 12, 2008
No strike...for now
Well- great news greeted us upon our arrival in Guinea. The strike, which was supposed to start 2 days ago, had been called off. I don't know if it was really the result of negotiations between the unions, government, and other involved parties, or the upcoming African Cup of Nations soccer tournament. Whatever it was, I am more than relieved to know that, at least until March 31st, when certain issues will be revisited by the government and unions, things should be pretty calm in this neck of the woods. All I want is to finish my Peace Corps service! Anyway - tomorrow I'm headed back to site...wish me luck in finding my motivation to grade 200 tests that I left behind over the holidays. Yikes. It'll be good to be back in Boke though, if only to be able to unpack my things. Oo'o.
Sunday, January 06, 2008
The Pit is Inaugurated
Well - I'm currently sitting in comfortable chair in a great hotel in the middle of Cairo, Egypt. Yesterday, I saw/touched/entered one of the seven ancient wonders of the world. Incredible.
Dinner last night? Sushi and Yaki Udon. Breakfast this morning? Four kinds of cheese, 6 kinds of pastries, cereal, fruit, fresh orange juice, omelette, bacon, the list goes on and on. I'm currently a happy camper...for the most part. Unfortunately, there are a couple pieces of not great news. First, the Steelers lost to the Jaguars, in a game that I got up to watch at about 5 in the morning. Second, a few days back, Hillary lost to Obama in Iowa. At least I'm still optimistic about that one - come New Hampshire and Super Tuesday. And finally - violence broke out again in Guinea and unions have called for strikes. I don't know much about the situation yet, and we havent heard back from Guinea...but I'm worried. Certainly, it's because of, well, the situation exactly a year ago...strikes, standfast, evacuation. I'm more confident that we'll be able to ride this strike out, though its still worrisome to think about. I'll write more as I find out about it.
In the meantime however, I can discuss one of the more exciting pieces of news for me in the last few weeks: the inauguration of our barbecue pit. (Yes, I know, this is so much more exciting for me than it will ever be for you, faithful reader, so bear with me.)
Ian and I have finished the Pit, after months of not too intense labor in the Guinean heat. Pictures can, and should be, checked out on my Flickr account. It's not so much the Pit I want to talk about though, as the experience of going to a Guinean slaughterhouse to pick out a pig for dinner.
We arrived at the slaughterhouse near downtown after 30 minutes of walking and asking around and getting increasingly worried we were simply miles away from the abbatoire. Once we arrived, though, oh what a sight to see. All sorts of farm animals - cows, goats, sheep, pigs, chickens, were fenced in behind a brick wall where Guineans argued and bargained for animals to slaughter for all the end of year celebrations. Ian and I followed a Guinean who told us he'd lead us to the pigs. What we didn't know was that we'd be following him to quite certainly the most disgusting place I've ever been, and maybe will be. The pigs were kept toward the back of the slaughter yard, on the beach. This was no regular beach though. Unlike most beaches, where you step on sand and breathe in the salty scent of the ocean, here we were stepping on thousands of dead cow's horns that literally covered every inch of beach, until reaching the water. The only smell was that of blood and excrement - and we had to work to avoid the mud puddles where pigs snorted, rolled, urinated, and fought with each other.
Perhaps the worst part was seeing and hearing the pig slaughter. They lay the pig down, with a couple of guys helping to hold down the animal. Then, in a very quick motion, they jabbed a huge knife into the pigs throat, and sliced across its neck, resulting in a stream of bright red blood pouring out from the squealing swine. Other pigs nearby, waiting to be degorged, ran up and gulped down the blood that was flowing across the rock slab where the slaughtered pigs lay. The pig, with its throat slit open, began shaking as he was held down, until his loud squeals and screams turned into a deep gurgling sound as the pig eventually stopped moving. This was the most grisly part of the process...the rest of it, cleaning and gutting the pig wasn't nearly as disgusting.
But I tell you what, once I got that out of my head, and Ian and I cooked that pig for9 hours in our barbecue pit, I was one happy man. Pulled pork sandwiches in Guinea? Something I thought I'd never see. Mmmm mmm, they were delicious. Enough about food and nasty slaughterhouses...oo'o.
Dinner last night? Sushi and Yaki Udon. Breakfast this morning? Four kinds of cheese, 6 kinds of pastries, cereal, fruit, fresh orange juice, omelette, bacon, the list goes on and on. I'm currently a happy camper...for the most part. Unfortunately, there are a couple pieces of not great news. First, the Steelers lost to the Jaguars, in a game that I got up to watch at about 5 in the morning. Second, a few days back, Hillary lost to Obama in Iowa. At least I'm still optimistic about that one - come New Hampshire and Super Tuesday. And finally - violence broke out again in Guinea and unions have called for strikes. I don't know much about the situation yet, and we havent heard back from Guinea...but I'm worried. Certainly, it's because of, well, the situation exactly a year ago...strikes, standfast, evacuation. I'm more confident that we'll be able to ride this strike out, though its still worrisome to think about. I'll write more as I find out about it.
In the meantime however, I can discuss one of the more exciting pieces of news for me in the last few weeks: the inauguration of our barbecue pit. (Yes, I know, this is so much more exciting for me than it will ever be for you, faithful reader, so bear with me.)
Ian and I have finished the Pit, after months of not too intense labor in the Guinean heat. Pictures can, and should be, checked out on my Flickr account. It's not so much the Pit I want to talk about though, as the experience of going to a Guinean slaughterhouse to pick out a pig for dinner.
We arrived at the slaughterhouse near downtown after 30 minutes of walking and asking around and getting increasingly worried we were simply miles away from the abbatoire. Once we arrived, though, oh what a sight to see. All sorts of farm animals - cows, goats, sheep, pigs, chickens, were fenced in behind a brick wall where Guineans argued and bargained for animals to slaughter for all the end of year celebrations. Ian and I followed a Guinean who told us he'd lead us to the pigs. What we didn't know was that we'd be following him to quite certainly the most disgusting place I've ever been, and maybe will be. The pigs were kept toward the back of the slaughter yard, on the beach. This was no regular beach though. Unlike most beaches, where you step on sand and breathe in the salty scent of the ocean, here we were stepping on thousands of dead cow's horns that literally covered every inch of beach, until reaching the water. The only smell was that of blood and excrement - and we had to work to avoid the mud puddles where pigs snorted, rolled, urinated, and fought with each other.
Perhaps the worst part was seeing and hearing the pig slaughter. They lay the pig down, with a couple of guys helping to hold down the animal. Then, in a very quick motion, they jabbed a huge knife into the pigs throat, and sliced across its neck, resulting in a stream of bright red blood pouring out from the squealing swine. Other pigs nearby, waiting to be degorged, ran up and gulped down the blood that was flowing across the rock slab where the slaughtered pigs lay. The pig, with its throat slit open, began shaking as he was held down, until his loud squeals and screams turned into a deep gurgling sound as the pig eventually stopped moving. This was the most grisly part of the process...the rest of it, cleaning and gutting the pig wasn't nearly as disgusting.
But I tell you what, once I got that out of my head, and Ian and I cooked that pig for9 hours in our barbecue pit, I was one happy man. Pulled pork sandwiches in Guinea? Something I thought I'd never see. Mmmm mmm, they were delicious. Enough about food and nasty slaughterhouses...oo'o.
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