Greetings from Ukraine, where pigs are in the high grade of respect — nearly to totem animal.
I was born and grew at the country side of Poltava region of Ukraine, in Kotelva village. It often considered as the most “pig-full” region of the whole country. For example, there’s a Pig Breeding Institute in the region.
I spent 15 years of my life in village, helping my parents in breeding and feeding the pigs, and sometime cows, goats, rabbits, chickens, ducks and more. Then I moved to Kharkiv city to learn the Radio Electronics and Computers. Now working here with Flash and Flex. But sometime I visit my fatherland and recall everything of village life including the lack of good books and music (now there’s an Internet, so things became much better that in my childhood).
Back to the pigs, the most famous Ukrainian national product called “Salo” (”Сало” in Ukrainian and Russian). It is produced from the pig’s body. It’s… hmm like the non-meat part of beacon (with little stripes of meat - they called “прорiзь” in Ukrainian and often valued as the most important detail of “Salo”).