Abuelita's Ways

One of my favorite people in the whole world is my grandma, she says the darnedest things. Whenever she comes to visit from Nicaragua, I love talking to her about old wives tales which to her are just words of advice and beliefs that have been passed down from older generations.

In honor of all abuelitas, here are some old wives tales we grew up with:

Don’t watch tv too closely or you’ll go blind- I heard this every day as a kid.
Hiccups are cured by putting a string on your forehead. I actually used to do this on myself when I was younger and unfortunately it didn’t seem to work for me, I don’t think I have the magic touch.
Pregnant women have to wear a safety pin during a lunar eclipse to prevent any birth defects.
Mal de ojo (evil eye)- the belief changes from culture to culture but the concept is similar. Babies can get evil eye from just about anything so they should wear an amulet to prevent it.
Don’t shower or go swimming right after eating, it can cause a stroke.
Don’t touch a frog or you’ll get warts- this one sort of contradicts the fairytale that kissing the frog will turn him into a prince. I think I like the fairytale more than the old wives’ tale!
Having aire or air getting trapped somewhere in your body, I never quite understood it but it seems like a lot of pains and aches are due to this phenomenon.
Rubbing alcohol for headache.
Rubbing vapor rub on the sole of your feet will help alleviate a cold.
Rubbing gasoline on achy limbs will alleviate the pain.
Drinking lemon juice will interrupt the menstrual cycle.
Cracking your knuckles will cause arthritis.
Swallowing gum will cause the gum to stick to your stomach wall.