Tea medicine

In German class on Tuesday, our teacher sent us all home early. He was sick with a cold, maybe a fever too. We told him we hoped he felt better soon, then one of my classmates asked if he'd been drinking fennel tea.

I like tea. The nice thing about being a tea drinker in Germany is that it's one thing I do that doesn't seem weird to Germans. Things that puzzle them are my poor command of the language, crossing the street on red lights, wearing sweatpants occasionally to the grocery store, spitting sometimes while I run, wearing bright colors, sometimes leaving home without a scarf, and buying a Christmas tree three weeks before Christmas. Americans mostly just find it strange that I don't drink coffee, and dig out an old bag of Lipton from the bottom of a drawer if I ask. At least in Germany no one bats an eye when you order tea.

Germans have a huge variety of teas. They also seem to have a lot of faith in the medicinal properties of teas. Here are some examples:

Nettle tea is a pain reliever, diuretic, and helps clear mucus from the lungs (that's where that spitting part comes in). 
Fennel tea is used for colds and digestive problems. 
Rose hip tea is good for the immune system and the urinary tract. 
Drink chamomile for insomnia and linden tea for stress relief. 
Lemon balm tea (Melissa in German) is good for cold sores. 
Peppermint tea helps digestion and toothaches.


You can't buy aspirin or cold medicine in Germany without going to the pharmacy, but you can buy all the tea you want at the drugstore. In case you don't believe me, I even took a picture to show you how many kinds there are. Keep in mind that this is a place where you can only buy one brand of peanut butter:

You'd think with all of these teas, Germans would have powerful immune systems, fueled by a steady stream of anti-oxidants. That's not the case. I am not sure whether Germans get sick more or less than Americans, but they take it more seriously when they do. This is good for me, since my meager income is determined by which teachers have called in sick, whether they are German or not. I do have a theory that because Americans eat more artificial crap as children, their immune systems are a little tougher. While the German kids had yogurt and muesli, the Americans had Cheetos and Cap'n Crunch.

Of course, Americans will come to work with a fever in order to save their days off. They feel miserable, spreading their germs around, and people think it's noble. Germans think it's crazy. They also have universal health care and jobs that don't limit sick time. In most jobs if you are gone for three days, you need a doctor's note in order to stay home any longer. If you are sick often, the employer can require the doctor's note on the second day. But there's no set number of days you can miss and you get paid for staying home.

Back to the teas, I've tried a lot of them. But really I enjoy a strong black tea best of all. So no nettles or fennel tea needed here. I have eaten my share of artificial colors and flavors and I'm feeling fine.