Dead Goat Day

I'm back from hibernation. And as promised, I'm going to finish my summer's adventures even if it is October. Yes, it is October, face it.

Warning: This adventure is not for the weak of heart. (That means you, Isaac. Hehe.)

I woke up one morning, knowing that in a couple of days I'll be saying goodbye to my family again as I announced the night before that I was going to the city to finish some more things before I left. My mom's excitements turned into something I did not really expect, but brushed off suddenly as we had dinner that night. Anyways, the next morning when I woke up I saw that my dad's garage, which was usually filthy and filled with all kinds of implements he uses for his mini-shop on engines, was clean. Very clean. There was no one around to directly inquire with so I was not really that curious anymore, until I heard it.

A bleat. A deafening, crying bleat. And the next thing I saw, my older brother was pulling in an adolescent goat. They were going to slaughter it that morning, hence the cleaned out venue.

Now, I have aided my dad in times like this before. One time I recall I pulled on a goat from our farm to our house (which was not a short trip), and watched as he got gutted and prepared for that night's (and usually for a couple of days) meat fest. In other words, I have grown up eating goat meat.

That day though I've realized how long it has been since I've eaten red meat. I did eat chicken a while back, but I stopped there too. And I was more conscious about animals and their feelings now. But I remember my mom's words that night: "My son is leaving again, so maybe we can celebrate his visit by having a feast by preparing one of the goats!" What she was saying to my Papa registered in an instant: this was for me.

Here are some of the, uhm, scenes I got to take pictures of:

These are the limbs and head. In preparing a whole goat, nothing is actually wasted. They cooked these eventually.

My brothers preparing lean cuts. Yum.
And finally, some of the final results. This recipe is made up of entrails and bile. The word used for the dish is translated "bitter," and that's just how it tastes like. I used to be able to eat this. But I had to pass this up.
Out of my gratitude for this, I did eat portions of the meat, mostly the lean. It wasn't as repulsive as I would have thought it would. I just thought to myself - I do still love my family, and this is their gift to me, and I wholeheartedly accept it.