International Cures for a Hangover

International Cures for a HangoverIn America, you have to be twenty-one years old to drink alcohol. You can smoke a cigarette when you are eighteen, and even vote for the president of he United States of America or fight for the freedom of your country, but you can’t drink alcohol. Speaking of smoking cigarettes, did you know that smoking just one cigarette can take ten to twelve minutes off your life? Think about people who smoke a pack of cigarettes a day. Not to mention the smell that it leaves on your clothes when you finish lighting one up. Anyway, moving on.

Let’s focus on the booze. Here in America, people like to drink. We focus on beer mostly, chugging back cans and bottles of Coors Light, Bud Light, and just about any other domestic beer we can get our hands on. It’s cheap, you can get it almost anywhere, and you can pretty much find it every refrigerator you come across. People here in the US tend to stay away from spirits like vodka and tequila more than citizens in other countries.

Whether you are drinking the hard stuff straight from the bottle or sipping on a glass of wine, it’s a safe bet that you are going to experience a hangover some day. This could come from a party out with friends or just from drinking one too many before bed. Hangovers affect people differently, and you will be telling yourself that next morning that you are never drinking again. That, is of course, until that night when you head out for a drink after work.

But like I said, people drink all over the world. How we cure a hangover varies from one country to another. Here in the states, we try to sweat it out by getting in an early morning workout or by chugging multiple cups of coffee. Regardless of how you cure your dreaded hangover, time is really the only thing that will help. It takes time for the alcohol in your blood to circulate. So be patient. If you want to, try one of these other clever techniques used around the world.

Haiti

After the recent earthquake that basically devastated the country of Haiti, I would venture to say a lot of people here are drinking their troubles away. But for the folks of this native land, you don’t grab a burrito at La Bamba on your way home from the bars. In Haiti, you just suck it up and wait until the next morning. Then you take thirteen, no more and no less, black pins in the cork of the bottle that bit you. This voodoo style to cure a hangover has been said to work for centuries for those who have tried and believed. Of course, you’d better hope you were drinking something that has a cork in the first place, if you want this one to work.

Ecuador

If you have the pleasure of visiting Ecuador, then you have to try some of their local specialties. They also have a long list of local beers that are specific to that area. And when you wake up the next morning, prepare yourself a batch of chuchaqui. This stuff is simply an oregano tea, and has some pretty ancient qualities to it. Be careful how much you drink, though. This stuff is also used as a laxative in South America.

Italy

There are more wines than you could ever try in Italy. From the reds to the white and the blends alike, you will find yourself eating a ten-course meal and drinking bottle after bottle of wine before you leave. So when morning rolls around, be ready to make yourself a glass of bull testes and espresso. Yes, you read that right. Italians like to take the private parts of a bull and prepare them with their morning espresso. If the taste of the bull doesn’t get you the punch in, the espresso surely will.

Japan

I have not yet been to the island of Japan, but when I do go I am going to sample as many varieties of sake as I can. I actually had a few kinds of sake in Hawaii, and can’t wait to try some from the mother land. When I wake up from a night of drinking, I am going to have to make sure to try some umeboshi. These little guys are dried sour plums, and the juice is thought to settle in the stomach and cure those nasty rumblings you are experiencing. Not sure how these would taste, but now I am curious.

Mongolia

Visiting Mongolia is not tops on my bucket list, but I must admit that it intrigues me how they cure hangovers. Laying claim to their desert surroundings, finding a good hangover cure doesn’t come easy. But the natives have found that if you take pickled sheep eyes and bathe them in tomato juice, you will care that hangover real quick. If nothing else the smell, will make you puke all of that alcohol back out of your system. (Hey readers, has anyone among you ever had pickled sheep eyes before?)

There you have it. I have given you a handful of ways to cure your dreaded hangovers. So this weekend, when you are out partying it up with your friends, remember there are many ways you can try to feel better come the next morning. But take it from me, if you really want a cure to your hangover, relax in bed all day and just sleep the booze away. Bottoms up!