My birthday cow, not for the weezy when it comes to the sight of blood...

As most of you all know, last month was my birthday....  as you may not know a typical Panamanian thing to do for someones birthday or other special occasions is to kill a cow.  My training family invited me to have a joint birthday party with my host mom and in celebration I was invited to ride out into the field with my host dad and brothers and pick out the cow that would be sacrificed for the party!
Below, 
You can see the pictures in order, I wished I didn't have to pick, but may she rest in peace.

 The process consists of first puncturing the top of the head and then slitting the throat, this gives a quick painless death and the cow bleeds out in a matter of minutes...

Those of you who know me well know that normally this would trigger lots of tears, but you'll all be proud to know my eyes barely watered.  My family did like it however that I said a little rest in peace prayer for the cow, and thanked it for giving us its life.

The butchering begins

Dogs enjoying the skin, yuck!

My lovely cake!

 So there you have it, I survived my first cow killing, just another experience in Panamanian culture!