gabby and her neti pot

        So, Gabby and I have been living together for some time now.  And she is very...shall we say, persuasive, about me trying the things that she introduces to me.  I do not enjoy the taste or the smell of a banana--And I think she has offered me either a banana or chunky monkey ice cream more times than I can count.  Now, it's a good joke, and so she offers banana-flavored-anything to me as many times as the opportunity presents itself.  And you'd be surprised how much it does.

      Anyway, last night Gabby was in the bathroom for an inordinate amount of time making strange gurgling noises.  Not wanting to pry, I simply kept to myself and hoped quietly that she wasn't drowning.  However, she came out eventually and was like, Jess--you gotta try this.  Hoping that she wasn't referring to drowning or anything banana-related, I asked her exactly what she wanted me to try.  The neti pot, she says matter-of-factly, as if we discuss these kinds of things all the time.  As if making gurgling noises at midnight is completely normal.  As if I actually wanted to join her in these festivities.  The what? I ask.  Just watch, she says.  

    Gabby then proceeds to take boiling hot water from a little, well, neti pot--with something or other dissolved in it (probably better that I didn't know, now that I think about it)--turn her head sideways, and pour the water into one nostril.  But, she's not done,  cause then that water pours out of her other nostril onto her face and the bathroom floor.  And yes, she is sputtering and gurgling.  Then she looks at me with a huge grin and says, Okay--your turn!

    Gabby, is this a normal Mexican thing to do? I ask.  No, she says, It's a normal, clearing out your nose thing to do. It gets rid of all the mocos.  

    And, ah, the mocos would be...?

    The snot, you know, the boogies, she replies.  

     Right, of course, I say.  

    Well, I guess you only live once.  So, after being thoroughly reassured that the water would not get into my brain, I grabbed it and poured.  Once I had stopped laughing, at least.  Anyway, it felt like I was being wiped out by a wave with unwelcome water just pouring into me, zinging the insides of my nasal passages .  The difference was that I was the one who was doing the pouring this time.  However, I will say that the neti pot did clean out all the mocos.  Gabby was right about that.  So, there you go--that was my experience with the neti pot.  And I bet you're all gonna rush out and buy one now, huh?