Pork Fest Day 1: Tuesday

People trickled into the Parakou workstation starting Monday night and continued this morning. By the time the first pig arrived we numbered 16. The first pig cost us 50,000f CFA (about 120 USD). She was a massive beauty. She arrived carried over the shoulders of another PCV who rode up to the house on the back of a zem.

We setup a table where three other volunteers and myself went to work butchering our first pig. It took more than 2 hours of hacking away at our future feast using a machete and low-quality Beninese cutlery to transform the animal into something manageable. About half way through the beer was from the distributor. We ordered 12 cases for the three days and managed to get a discount. Cooking this much pig is thirsty work. Pork bits started flying everywhere and pretty soon we had ourselves a whole lot of meat.

As soon as I could I got the ribs into a pot of boiling water. I know boiling ribs is sacrilege, but we aren't dealing with a plump American corn fed pig so sacrifices must be made. I made a rub from brown sugar, fennel seed, paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, and a couple other things I found around the kitchen. After that they went into the oven. A bit into the cooking time I checked on them and and saw that the oven was far too hot. I was misinformed about the calibration of the oven and there is no thermometer in the house. In the end they turned out pretty good, everyone seemed to love them. The ribs were supplemented with grilled pork tenderloin and cornbread and coleslaw for sides. Dinner was outstanding. I ate until I didn't think I could possibly eat anymore, then I had seconds. Eating food like this after being in Benin for nearly a year was one of the most physically gratifying things that I've ever experienced. Food is an important part of life, that is nothing new, but doing something like this has given me new appreciation of how much impact a single meal can have on one's mentality.

We had a visitor up from Cotonou. He is a student studying microfinance at Wake Forest. He heard about our pork project and couldn't pass it up. He had never visited the north before so we took him out to try chuke for the first time. Chuke is a local brew made from millet and yeast served in dried gourds. If well made the taste comes off a bit like cider, if not it has a vinegar tinge to it. The yeast is actually left in the mix so it continues to ferment as it sits in the gourd (and yuour stomach). Mostly it is bought and sold in markets, but it can also be found in shacks along the roadside. Its a PCV beverage of choice because the markets are full of interesting people and the price is right (50f CFA or $0.12 USD).

Entering into your first chuke stand is an interesting experience. Its dark, dank, and humid. The tin roofs keep the heat trapped in. Lining the walls are low set benches often crowded with Beninese men taking a break or getting out of the house. The stands smell of old chuke, sweat, and dust. The service is generally younger women who seek a meager living selling the swill at a profit margin that would make an American entrepreneur weep.

Fat and happy we spent the rest of the evening listening to music, sharing stories, and enjoying one another's company. Some people played beerpong and others started prepping for breakfast. Its nice to have some time to relax and cut loose after all the work of the past few weeks. Many of the PCVs that came the year before I did are getting ready to finish up their service and its good to see them one last time.