Traditional Medicine

Written Tuesday, 24 January 2008

 

 

Lately I've had a not very serious, but never-ending, cold.  I used up all the throat lozenges that Peace Corps gave me.  Stuck in my village with a scratchy throat and no throat lozenges = not fun.  So my counterpart offered to make me some traditional medicine – a particular kind of leaf, boiled in water, and then sugar added. 

 

I decided to try it.  It was a thick, syrupy drink the color of pond scum.  And tasted about like pond scum too.  And it did indeed make my scratchy throat feel better.  I still prefer throat lozenges, though.