This picture has a great story behind it. It was my first day at the open market in Zhuji. My friend Terry, who is a foreign teacher at my school, took me there to show me around. The first stand we walk up to was this one. There were live chickens, ducks, and other birds in cages and it all smelled like shit. You know that smell when you walk into a pet store? Imagine that times 10. Terry says something in Chinese to the lady and she opens up one of the cages and grabs a live chicken out by its neck. As the chicken is flailing around violently in the grasp of her hand she calmly asks him in Chinese, "is this one okay?" He confirms and it was then I realized what was going to happen. She took the chicken to the back of her stand where there was a large cutting board and meat cleaver. Use your imagination to to fill in the rest. As for me, I quickly turned and walked away before shit went down. I was not about to watch a live bird get butchered and skinned in front of my eyes.

Here's the thing. I love meat. I love all foods. One of the foreign teachers even called me a garbage can because I will eat anything. But I can't watch a live animal get killed, even if I eat that animal. Maybe it sounds hypocritical but that's just me. I can look at  raw meat without a problem, but the second you show me how it gets from being alive to an edible product I'm out.