No Water

Today, according to NPR, an International Water Forum is being held in Mexico. Women in developing countries walk an average of just under 4 miles a day to get their water. The forum is trying to come up with alternatives to this. I am going to look it up online to learn more about it, as water has become one of my primary interests in my apartment in China.

In America, if a water main breaks or a hurricane hits, entire towns shut down, school is cancelled and people ultimately have a freak out. Bottled water works well, but there comes a point where living with only bottled water is very difficult. Ask anyone that has been through a hurricane. The difference for me is that I am not living in a state of emergency. In fact, nothing is wrong at all, which makes it even more difficult to comprehend my lack of water.

Welcome to China.

This weekend my water was shut off. No water for 3 days. Having no water during the daytime in the week is par for the course. My apartment is above the cafeteria, so apparently they use all the water in the building during the daytime. I don't have water from early in the morning until the middle of the afternoon. I have figured out how to get around this. I fill thermoses and bathe/wash dishes/do laundry at night. No big deal. But the weekends should be different. There isn't school, therefore no one else is using the water, meaning I should have plentiful water. Right? No dice.

Hot water is a whole different ball game. I never thought I could live without it (asides from camping, but I am living, not camping) but I can. I have about 6 minutes of hot water a night and now that it is getting warmer, my water temperature goes up a bit higher, meaning the lukewarm water lasts a little bit longer. But it's amazing what you can do in 6 minutes. Shaving makes it a bit tricky though. I have been shaving my legs in intervals. Lower left one day, Lower right a few days later... It works. And it is nice that my hair is really short now, because otherwise the whole 6 minutes would be untangling my locks.

I have a large water cooler in my room with potable water, which I use to brush my teeth and sometimes wash my hair, but I just hate the waste of using that water for things other than eating or drinking. I guess I need to just get over that since it is all that is provided.

When I brought up this concern to Orange, she didn't really seem concerned. When I brought it up to Dyan, she laughed and said, "This is China!" They deal with water issues just like I do. They actually have these metal heaters that plug in and then dip down into their tub in order to heat a tub full of cold water. Pond heaters? Those heaters take an hour or so to heat a tub, and needless to say, aren't the safest things around, but for three people to have a weekly bath, I think we'd all do the same thing.

Most of the Chinese in my town go to public bathhouses, where they pay to bathe in a big room. I could do this, but it is not recommended for foreigners as everyone gets about an inch away from you and inspects your body and nakedness. Even though I am pretty comfortable with nudity, I just don't think I need to do that. Other people pay to get their hair washed on the streets. The last and most likely option is to simply stay dirty and wait til the water flows. Kymberly has solar powered hot water, which means that NO hot water exists in her apartment during the winter months, and NO cold water exists in the summer... You'd think you could reach a happy medium, right? Bonna has a communal bathroom/shower so she showers in Paul's apartment. Dyan and Poli only have hot water once a week, so they often go to Paul's too, or they risk short circuiting their apartment. SO I guess I am lucky, having my 6 minutes a day.

Next time you take that long and luxurious shower, think of the people in China that can't. Or when you get your pristine well water that pours out of your indoor faucet, imagine that most people around the world can't even drink their water. And be happy that you aren't walking 4 miles a day to carry back water for your family. It strikes me every day just how lucky I am, and how much I take for granted. Now that I am here, I need to keep on doing that, because my situation is so much nicer than most.

Count your blessings. We are all so blessed.