Am I an addict or just a casual user?

September 14, 2011: Being here in Uruguay for way way too long…I somehow lost an addiction and found another. What addiction did I so happen to conquer? I kick my pop addiction…soda pop to some, gaseosa to those who don’t know how to speak English or who never tried. I am so over the carbonated beverages but now, I am loving the herb. The great thing about this herb is that it doesn’t require me to get a bogus doctor's note stating that I have cancer, MS or a bad case of PMS. I don’t even have to visit Coolio or any street corner Bob Marley look alike nor support a tie-dye shirt with the herb pasted proudly to the front.

So what is the herb? Mate. Mate…spelt, M-A-T-E. The following is pulled straight from Wikipedia taking out a little and adding a little of my own wording: “The infusion called mate is prepared by steeping dry leaves (and twigs) of the mate plant in hot water. Drinking mate with friends or random strangers off the street with facial herpes from a shared hollow gourd (also called a guampa or mate in Spanish) with a metal shiny straw (a bombilla in Spanish) is a common social practice in Argentina, Uruguay and other places you won’t remember. It is done among people of all ages, sexes and social classes including the mangy backpackers that might be passing through. ”

Wikipedia also kind of - sort of states, “The flavor of brewed mate is strongly vegetal, herbal, and grassy, reminiscent of some varieties of green tea, dirt and a hint of 3 day old socks.” Okay…no more quoting or semi quoting.

I am now officially on the “Mate Bandwagon” becoming an active participant in this mate custom, consuming this green herb by the kilo from an unsanitary filthy community straw and if not more filthy gourd being used as a cup. Try to share a straw at home and that person will more than likely let you finish the beverage or replace the straw for a fresh one without a tad of guilt.

To join in on this cultural experience I had to make some adjustments to how I feel about…germs. Starting off slow, I am now at almost Olympic qualification speed and accuracy as I scan the lips of all consumers for any possible contagious illnesses or facial herpes when the mate is passed around a circle as people take hits from the chrome straw.

If I spot a potential threat on my short term or long term health…I am ready at a nanoseconds notice to release a lie with no guilt that I either don’t like mate or that I am not feeling very well, quickly following it up with a crunched “I don’t like it” face or a “turn your head to the left” cough. Even if I chose to be less…communal, it is not possible to pull out my own chrome straw or to bring my own cup and ask them to pour you some. The consumption of this leafy substance is more socially complicated...but, what is there in life that is not complicated?