Water

Water has such a huge impact on the way I live my life in China. First of all, I have to boil water before I can drink it. There is no such thing as clean water here. I try not to think about the things that are killed when it’s boiled…

Not only that, but I only have hot water from the faucet certain hours per day: 7-8:30 am and 9-11 pm. Unfortunately, since I live on the top floor of the building, I don’t get water until about 30 minutes after it’s supposed to start. And I can’t take a shower in the morning because I’ll be late for class. Every evening I eat a late dinner with my friends; we keep a close eye on the clock and leave to take showers around 10:30. Sometimes we all come back to hang out some more after 11.

A few times there has been no water at all, hot or cold. On these days, I wash my face in bottled water. I think about how ridiculous this is to both extremes. On one hand, I feel spoiled to be using bottled water, like those people who give their pets bottled water to drink, or who water their plants with it. Seriously, guys? But on the other hand, I’m in freaking China and I don’t have a single drop of water from the faucet, and if I did it would be contaminated. So either way I look at it, I can’t believe I wash with bottled water…

Anyway, I’m used to washing my hands, etc., in cold water now, but showers are another matter. I’ve had my share of cold showers this semester. I thought I was getting pretty tough, until I realized that every time I get a cold, it’s the day after a freezing shower. Wives tales? Listen to them.