Taiwanese Christmas, Part III: Forget Opium, This Powder Stuff is Better!

If you've read parts I and II of this Taiwanese Christmas, you already know by now that I have been sick for a few weeks now, and I am sick of being sick.

So a lovely friend was inquiring about my health, and suggested that I go see a Chinese medicine doctor, and recommended her clinic, which was recommended to her by another friend. Hmmm...I'm thinking...Chinese medicine and Jean don't go well together. To me, Chinese medicine means ingesting large quantities of black pellet-sized pills that smell foul, drinking dark potions that taste extra bitter and smell foul, lots of little needles poking you and smelling foul, messy salves made from tree bark and caterpillar eyes that smell foul, and a little bit of witchcraft by a foul-smelling old Chinese man with an untrimmed, bleach-white mustache. However, I've been taking Western medicine and nothing seems to be working. I tell myself I try to be open-minded and give this a try, besides, Taiwan has some of the best Chinese medicine doctors in the world and people have been practicing it for thousands of years.

Ok, so yesterday I went to the clinic recommended by my friend. It was bright and not smelly, very tastefully decorated, and the staff were very courteous. The doctor examines me, asks me about my symptoms, and asks if I've taken Chinese medicine before. I tell her that I haven't. She says the medicine is a little bitter, so she'll add some sugar into it to make it more palatable. I leave with little packets of brown powder which I'm instructed to dissolve in hot water and drink four times a day. Ok, totally manageable.

I sat down for the first dose, dissolving the brown powder in a bowl of hot water. It looked murky, and had a faint herbal smell. I drank it, the first sip tasted a bit foul, not particularly bitter nor sweet, a mild earthy flavor. I finished the remainder with a second sip. It wasn't so bad, actually, tastes vaguely similar to this soup I like.

I've had 3 more doses since, and the flavor gets more palatable each time. It seems to be working, as last night was my first restful night of sleep in what seems like a long time. This morning, I woke up feeling renewed and rejuvenated. I'm still not 100% better, still coughing, but already with less frequency and intensity compared to yesterday. I am hopeful, and keeping my fingers crossed, that I will be mostly back to normal by New Year's Eve.