San Dionisio:
The family has a small farm where they have chickens, ducks, milk cows, horses, bees, and of course the requisite cats and dogs. We stayed with Pedro and Alicia and Pedro's grown children. It was amazing and beautiful how welcoming the family was - they were so excited to see Andrea again, and they gladly accepted me into their life. When we arrived Alicia was sick and staying with her family up the road, so Pedro was in charge of feeding us. He had set up a little grate over a fire and cooked us ribs from the pig they had recently slaughtered, and longaniza (a kind of sausage that Chillan is famous for) that we had brought as a gift.
As you may know, I haven't eaten red meat or pork in over 3 years....
I thought about my main reasons for not eating meat: generally the animals are fed with grains and hormones to make them grow faster, which is an unnatural and unhealthy process. It takes approximately 8 lbs of grain to obtain 1lb of meat, and all of that grain could be going to feed human beings... I thought of the negative impact meat production has on the environment as well as poverty and hunger throughout the world.... And then I looked around and realized that the ribs I was being presented with had come from a pig that this family had raised, hormone free and grass-fed, on their own property. I knew that Pedro was offering us, his guests, the best he had. I wanted to share in the celebration and spirit that the food was being offered. SO, I ate 2 ribs and a slice of longaniza.
It actually was really fun to sit outside on tree stumps in the dark, warmed by the coals of the fire, watching the stars flood the sky, sharing companionship and food right off the grill.
The next morning, we ate pork steak for breakfast! And more sausage for lunch! Oh dear, my poor body just couldn't take it anymore. The rest of the weekend I found ways to beg off of eating meat, but it wasn't easy. I realized that meat, even if it's locally grown and grass-fed, is no longer something that is even appetizing to me, and is no longer something that my body can digest.
But don't worry, there was more to the weekend than meat! I watched Pedro kill a chicken, and I watched as they cut the body open. That may sound morbid, but it was actually really stunning. As they opened the body, these two goldenrod globes slipped out, followed by a full membranous oval. Out of this membrane glided a fully formed egg! It was such a surprise!
We spent so much time sitting outside and taking in our surroundings. The Andes mountains lined the horizon, and the blue of the sky highlighted their snowy caps. All of the flowers and trees were in bloom, and the soil was a rich coffee brown.
Our second night in San Dionisio, we went to visit Alicia's family for their independence day celebration. Her family is very musical, so after a GIGANTIC asado (bbq) involving pig, cow, and goat meat (which I was thankfully able to avoid despite much protest from the entire family), everyone broke out their guitars and accordion. Those who didn't have instruments used forks, hands, and voices. It was such an amazing experience to share in their passion and companionship as they sang folk songs, protest songs, and dance songs (MORE CUECA!) as the sun went down and the sky began to twinkle with the light of the milky way and distant galaxies. While others danced, I stood under the stars and talked with one of Alicia's relatives about constellations, other worlds, politics, social justice, etc etc etc.
Isn't it fascinating to think that I am seeing a whole different sky!
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