The First Sip of Water for a Man Sobering Up (6/17投稿記事「酔い覚めの水」の英訳）

Before the pandemic, I used to meet with old friends from high school several times per year. But for about two years, we showed restraint and played it safe by not meeting. However, recently since Corona calmed down quite a bit, a few of us met for drinks, which was the first time in a long time. It was quite fun just to converse with everyone, reminiscing about old times and chattering about the recent events in our lives. It used to be that I would drink too much and suffer for it the next day, but lately, I have not been subject to that kind of experience. This is actually due to someone explaining to me that when your body processes alcohol, acetaldehyde is produced, which is the cause of the bad feelings your experience during a hangover. To process the acetaldehyde, water is necessary. If you don’t drink a sufficient amount of water, the dehydration makes you feel worse. Therefore, to avoid drunken sickness, it is best to keep ingesting water. Thanks to this advice, I have since been free of both drunken sickness and hangovers. Speaking of which, there is a saying that goes, “The first sip of water for a man sobering up has a sweetness that a man of abstinence will never know,” but what we should really do is drink that water before sobering up!