Cuy

Forgot to post this earlier, but while I was in Cusco, Jose recommended I try the local delicacy, Cuy. Aka Guinea Pig. Since I had just seen the South Park episode about Peruvian flute bands and Guineasaurus Rexes taking over the world, this made perfect sense to me. Here are some before and after shots. Somebody get me a People for the Eating of Tasty Animals bumper sticker.

Although honestly, Cuy wasn’t that tasty. A little spicy, not terrible, but definitely not great either. The fried stuffed peppers at the top off my plate saved this dish, they were awesome.

In unrelated news, I’m thinking about returning to the DC area sometime this summer (June-Aug-ish) to work at a non-profit for a year or so. I’m also thinking about volunteering somewhere in Latin America for a year. The annoying part about this is that most volunteer opportunities in Latin America require the volunteer to pay for the experience. At first this seems ridiculous, how can they expect people to pay money to come work for free? But, when you think about it, most volunteer opportunities are in poor communities, and if they had enough money to provide free room and board for a volunteer, it would make more sense to hire a local instead; somebody who already speaks the language fluently, knows the culture, and will probably be there longer than a year. The exception to the rule is people with special skills like doctors, nurses, and IT professionals. So, if any of the dozen-ish future doctors I know, or Trent or Kirk, want to volunteer abroad for a year, lucky you. In conclusion for me, I don’t know what I’ll do next year. Currently I’m just wishing Peace Corps didn’t require a 27 month commitment and have a 9 month long processing time. Suggestions welcome.