Chinese medicine
Acupuncture aside, Chinese people (especially the elderly) will swear by Chinese medicine. Whether this is balm, oil – yes, oil – or the type that you eat, there is a remedy for anything that ails you. You attract mosquitoes? There is an oil for that (even though it smells). Your joints are aching? There is a balm for that (even though it smells). You’re just sick in some way? There are herbal concoctions for that (yes, it smells). The irony is that Chinese herbal shops don’t smell that badly; they actually smell quite pleasant.
A Chinese person will usually bypass all Western medicine, citing the horrible side effects it incurs, such as tiredness and nausea. Drinking herbal concoctions that reek of last month’s garbage collection is much preferable, because this only lasts as long as you are drinking the thick, ink-black liquid. And if you’re Chinese, you would know that the best way to take this is: extremely quickly. While holding your breath. This is unfortunately quite difficult as it is imperative that you take the medicine while it is scalding hot. What results is a painfully slow sip-by-sip ingestion, which allows the taste to swirl around in your mouth, swelling in the taste buds until you wonder why you didn’t just take the harmless, tasteless, pill that Doctor Martin prescribed you and take a long nap instead of listening to your (well-meaning) mother.
*After a few days, the smell will have been aired out and gone, and magically, so will your illness. Yeah, it works. Don’t ask me why.
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