"Gin Dai!"

So I have found out that Thais will eat pretty much everything. When I say pretty much anything I mean not only any animate object but also every part of that animate object. It never ceases to amaze me the things that are bought to eat and even more so the random animals or insects that are caught with an enthusiastic “gin dai” or “it’s edible.” Last night is a case in point. We were returning late from Chiang Mai where we had just finished getting quotes on catfish and frogs that the SAO is purchasing for the villagers to raise. The road to the town of the SAO zigzags through a heavily forested and mountainous national park. It was nearing midnight and I was half asleep. All the sudden I felt the car lurch forward and thud underneath the wheels. Before I knew it the truck was in reverse heading towards the unfortunate animal that had crossed our path. Before the car was stationary Boi jumped out and I was close behind him. In my grogginess the only words that could come out of my mouth was “what is it, what is it?” Both Boi and No had no idea what it was, but as they hurriedly threw it into the back of the pickup they assured me that “gin dai.”

As soon as we were once again headed down the mountain, both Boi and No got a kick out of telling me that we would be eating this animal for breakfast. Before we arrived back in town several friends had been called and there was a little congregation when we finally arrived at the house. By this time it was nearly 1:00 am, but that didn’t persuade my Thai friends from starting up a bond fire and going about the business of skinning and gutting this animal. I went to bed but woke up periodically to boisterous banter near the fire outside of my room. When I woke up this morning, the animal, which looked like a cross between a pig and a badger with a very pungent odor, was carried around like a trophy. We arrived at the SAO and sure enough they began preparing it for our late breakfast. In case I haven’t mentioned this yet, Thais do not distinguish between breakfast, lunch, and dinner food. In fact, in American terms everything in Thailand is dinner. When the animal was finally in its final meal form it was the traditional spicy Thai curry/soup, but unfortunately even the aromatic Thai spices couldn’t cover up the odor of the meat of this animal. There were huge chunks of fatty skin, bones, and some meat. My friends ate it as if it were the best food they had had in ages. No kept joking with me that if you eat this that you would be big and strong. Either that or die from some tropical animal borne jungle disease! Well I had a few bites and took my leave. Just another day in my life as a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand!