one part tea, three parts ракия. repeat.

My senior thesis advisor was a big Medical Anthropologist. He has devoted his life into studying the way cultures react to illnesses. If you ever get a chance to read any medical anthropology work you should, it is fascinating to see how differently groups of people can react to the same set of diseases. These last couple of days have showed me a little insight into the way Bulgarians react when their crazy little American gets a cold.
First I’ll explain what I had in American terms. I had a cold. I figured I got sick from either my students or Friday night when I went to the Disco. I had a huge headache, the chills, sore throat, a whole lotta mucous, I lost my appetite, an awful hacking cough and was very tired. I could feel the cold beginning on Friday night, I didn’t eat anything on Saturday, felt worse Saturday night and then Sunday morning, the cold broke and I thought I was going to die. On Monday, I was feeling better but called into work because I needed more sleep and a day without students. I took a couple Ibuprofen, some tea with honey and lemon juice, and some decongestants. I didn’t check my temperature because I figured, “what difference would it make? I would treat it exactly the same way.” My plan of attack was to just wait it out. I thought it would pass. And it did. I did not call a doctor.
Now for the Bulgarian response. It seems that my friends believe that colds come from cold temperatures. Colds can come from changing temperatures or simply from being cold and wet. Neighbors asked me when I was underdressed, and some thought it was from my long, cold walks to school. Another neighbor said it was from Friday night when I went to visit her and only wore a t-shirt. Another neighbor said that I should keep all my doors within my apartment open so that the whole place will be one temperature and I won’t have to go from a hot living room to a cold kitchen. This could get me sick. One of my 24 year old neighbors, however, saw me looking half dead and laughed, saying, “имаш ново гадже, нали? (Well, you got a new girlfriend, don’t you?).” At the time, I was not in the mood for joking. But now I realize that his comment may suggest another concept of the cause of illness: having a new girlfriend, and kissing her, can give you an illness. Maybe he and his generation are thinking of colds in a different way. Of course, I don’t have a new girlfriend, but that was part of the joke too. Now that I think of it, he’s a pretty mean guy.
Treatments for colds vary greatly. Most often it is something social. As an American, I am accustomed to being left alone when I am sick. I figure all I need is some rest, relaxation and peace. Not here. I think I was more active this weekend than any other time. I went over two neighbors, had coffee with a Bulgarian colleague in a café, and had four guests over to my place. Guests brought sweets, hot milk mixtures, two dinners (on the same night), and tea with cognac and honey (twice). Though I didn’t feel like it, we talked and talked and talked until I felt like I was going to pass out.
Tea with honey, lemon and cognac or brandy was an often repeated remedy. So was a kind of compress to put on your throat. It involves homemade brandy, crushed olives, scarves, boiled and applied to the throat. One person who told me this, even though she was suggesting it, didn’t know exactly why it worked. Sounds very much like Western Culture: we always suggest some medicine but do we really know how aspirin works? Another suggestion was one I had never heard of: fill up a bucket with very very hot water and a handful of salt. Then you stick your feet in it and wait till you get very chilly. I don’t understand this one but I think I missed something in the translation…
Here, people take a more cautious approach to sickness. It is a much bigger deal. If you are sick, you are always treated like you are dying. You must see the doctor, you must go to the hospital. You must go home and rest. Take plenty of medicine. Take plenty of time off from work. I was hesitant about taking Monday off, but everyone was expecting me to take Tuesday, or even Wednesday off too. My first period class didn’t show up today because they were sure I would not come in.
So I got sick and now I am better. Who has a better explanation and treatment? I don’t know. But I do know that I was underdressed Friday at my neighbors place and on Friday I was freezing after taking a very cold shower. And maybe I should have taken today off because I still have a nasty cough, and I nearly feel asleep in the teachers room between classes. And maybe that tea with brandy really did work…