Is that a Rat in your mouth?

Topic: Food

Source: As a young child, my mother and father liked to take me and my two older brothers on trips to visit family members out of the country. They would take us to the central part of Mexico. We would vist Guadalajara in Jalisco, San Luis Potosi and Zacatecas. We would usually go into the small towns in which my distant family members lived. My mom preferred to visit Zacatecas where she spent most of her childhood. We visited the small town that my mom grew up in. It is home to around 200 people of low income and some agriculturist. There were hills and a lot of "green" surrounding that small town. There were cows, sheep, donkeys,and horses.

Relation: What one eats is also connected to their culture. Some people eat things that others would not. Many things are edible but we refuse them because it is not what we are accustomed to. A culture just like an environment can influence what goes in your mouth

Description:When I was about 4 or 5 my family and i went on a hiking trip in the hills of my mom's hometown. We picked "prickly pears" and "nopales". There were many obstacles up the hill such as rocks and trees. The rocks were usually home to snakes or rodents so we were careful not to disturb those creatures. Although we did not want to disturb the snakes my uncle wanted to hunt rats. We did not mind him hunting the rats since we were busy picking the cactus fruit. While we were picking fruit my uncle caught three rats. I have no idea how he managed to catch them because at that moment I was not interested. After our hike we went back to my aunt and uncles little house. My uncle lit the barbeque,then he gutted and took the fur off the rats. He barbequed the rats on a stick and then offered me and my siblings a stick. My brothers refused to eat it and i did not understand why. I was handed a stick and i began to eat my rat. To me the rat tasted like chicken. I did not understand why it was okay to eat rats in that town and why it was not okay to eat them in my hometown near Los Angeles.The town did not eat rat as a regular meal but it was usually a treat after a hunting trip. When i returned home I did not recall eating the rat. I believe my mother reminded me when I was around thirteen. I told others of what i had eaten and they looked at me in surprise or disgust.

Commentary/Analysis:I am not so sure i would eat a rat again because of all of the weird reactions I get when I tell people. If I ever do it would be in that small town of Zacatecas, although i do not think it will be the same since a lot of things have changed in that town.