there's more to pigs than the flu

Curanto is a famous traditional dish on the island of Chiloe.  It's either cooked in a big hole in the ground or in a gigantic metal pot, and consists of broth, clams, mussels, chicken, and meat (pork or sausage or whatever else) steamed in leaves.  If it's really special, the dish might include an added delicacy of thick strips of pig skin.

This past Wednesday I had the distinct pleasure of eating curanto.  Although I've eaten it before, I had never seen it with that lovely fat pig flesh....  Being recognized as a semi-vegetarian prevented any of it from landing in my bowl, but of course everything had been steaming together for hours.

My stomach has been in hell ever since.

Being sick in Chile is an interesting experience.  I have literally been surrounded by heated discussions on what herbal tea is best for the digestive tract, only to hear from the northern hemisphere of the world that I shouldn't be drinking herbal teas at all.  Open your mouth to say anything, and you will instantly be shouted down with the inevitable fact that everything you have consumed is further poisoning your system.  Everyone has about 50 strong opinions on the matter... this herb is too warm for the stomach, that one will push everything out of your system, another will stop you up, vinegar will kill any illness, anything you would eat vinegar on will make you bloated and swollen, cold water is the devil, the medicine you're taking is old-fashioned, etc etc etc....  It's enough to make you want to shut up and spend the week on the toilet, if that's what it takes to be left alone.

So far I've escaped the "gripe porcina" (swine flu), but the pigs still got to me.  Concha.

I still really like pigs, though - when they are alive and healthy!