Goodbye Rafa

Rafa says the recent medicine-related posts on this blog are "boring." Maybe these pictures from his goodbye party will interest him. First, to dispel a common rumor, life here is more than just a constant party. We actually work during the week. Now, about the party:

Rafa, Project Barrios Logistician, is leaving next week. He is going to a MSF Logistics training course/conference near Bogotá Colombia, then home to País Vasco (aka Basque Country). Happily, Ángeles, the former logistician for the Olopa Chagas Disease project, will take Rafa´s place.

We had a party on Friday night to say goodbye to Rafa, Dolors, and Jairo, and to welcome Ángeles. Conrado and Rafa arranged to buy a pig several weeks before the party. They snapped the above pic on a site visit to ensure the pig was fat enough to feed the expected guests.

The day of the party, Norma hacked the pig to bits with an ax (pic at right). Droplets of piggy-juice flew everywhere. It was disgusting. If I was not a vegetarian already, I´m sure this sight would have converted me.

I will not describe the details of the beer and liquor purchase, as I did not get a picture of the bottles, and I´m sure nobody will believe me without it. It will suffice to say that we bought enough to double or triple the LFTs of 80 guests.

Pichi barbecued pig meats while Norma made stew from various internal organs. We also made guacamole, yucca, salad, tortillas, and mojitos. The guests feasted like ravenous carnivores. Magdalena (at left) said the food tasted good. I spent my time documenting the transformation from cute piggy to bubbling stew, the last pork incarnation pictured at right.


I am in no mood to deal with my sentimental side, so I will not ramble about how much we will miss Rafa etc etc. I just hope he will eat more of this stew before he leaves, so we can get this pig out of our fridge.