Amazing Animals!

In 5th grade English class, the children are learning about animals. Domestic animals vs. wild animals. Pets. What they look like, what they eat, where they live, etc. It is very interesting for them, as they all seem to love animals and are having fun learning the vocabulary in English. Yesterday we were doing a unit on amazing animals, talking about tree frogs, which eat their own kind, vampire bats that drink blood, and tarantula spiders that can eat small birds. Rosa, the English teacher, began an exercise asking the children "what is an amazing fact about ________?" and they had to come up with the answer. Some examples from this exchange are: What is an amazing fact about an ostrich? It has wings but it can't fly. What is an amazing fact about an eagle? It has powerful sight. What is an amazing fact about a kangaroo? It has a pouch where it carries its baby. What is an amazing fact about a dog? It has a strong sense of smell. What is an amazing fact about a gecko? It can walk on walls upside-down. You get the idea. So we're going along like this and then Rosa asks, what is an amazing fact about a pig? A few students make some attempts. It is pink. It is dirty. It has a flat nose. Yes maybe, Rosa says, but that is not what is amazing about it. I look at her, wondering what she is going to say, thinking it may be something about their intelligence. "The amazing thing about pigs is, when they are dead, we eat everything." Y me quedé boquiabierta. What has that got to do with the amazing-ness of pigs???!! I guess I should have expected as much here in the Pork Capital of the World. Poor little piggies.