Troubled Water

　　Chinese fail to warm to how Americans serve their H2O

　　Of all the multitude of culture shocks Chinese people traveling in the United States experience， many find the difference in drinking habits to be the most onerous. In short， they find it difficult to get their hands on hot water in the United States.

　　In their home country， Chinese people are used to drinking hot water. The kettle is an indispensable item in all Chinese kitchens and hotels. However， when they are visiting the United States， they can find neither a kettle nor a thermos flask.

　　It turns out that the American people do not drink hot water. Instead， they drink running water， straight from the tap， or even go so far as to add ice to their water. All of this can prove a little overwhelming for first-time travelers from China.

　　Shock

　　“There are no kettles or thermos for sale in most American supermarkets，” said Yang Rongrong who studied in the United States for two years to earn an MBA degree. “Luckily， I was in California， where many Chinese people live. I was able to buy a kettle and a thermos from one of the supermarkets run by the Chinese.”

　　Some American families do keep kettles for heating water， but they are only big enough to heat water for a few cups of tea， and this was far from sufficient for drinking purposes， she said.

　　At the beginning of her spell in the United States， the difference in drinking habits came as a big shock to her.

　　“The Americans drink beverages with ice even in the winter，” said Yang. “Only cold water is provided in restaurants. It was something we had to get used to.”

　　Young and open-minded as she was， she quickly adapted to the drinking habits of the inhabitants of her host country. Yet despite this， she still found it difficult to accept the notion of a drinking fountain.

　　“People would take some water directly from the drinking fountains in the United States. In China we would never do that. I hate the distinctive smell of running water and find it very off-putting，” she said.

　　After completing her MBA studies， both she and her boyfriend came back to China. A major reason for the couple’s return from the United States is the country’s living habits.

　　Compared to Yang， Zhu Zhengfa had a harder time when he was in the United States. The 55-year-old man， along with his wife， flew to the United States to visit their daughter in July of 2013. His daughter works in Boston.

　　“When I arrived in the United States， I found that in schools， shopping malls， libraries and other public places， no hot water is available. Some people drank the running water directly from the tap，” said Zhu. “This is difficult to accept for elderly Chinese people like me. We have been used to drinking hot water our whole lives！”

　　“My daughter bought a big thermos for us，” said Zhu. “When we went out at weekends， we would keep the hot water in the thermos.” When it came to longer trips， the couple would bring an electric water heater along with them to address their plight.

　　Another experience that left a lasting impression was when Zhu’s daughter gave birth to a baby. “We went to the hospital. It was a great hospital， with first-class equipment and a fabulous level of care with only one big problem： They didn’t provide hot water. New mothers all drank water that hadn’t been boiled. This is not acceptable in our culture，” said Zhu.

　　According to the Chinese traditions， after the delivery of a baby， the mother should engage in a period of postpartum confinement. New mothers must spend 30-odd days after childbirth indoors， focusing on warmth and the restoration of energy. They are advised to follow a long list of strict rules， one of which says they should keep warm and never touch cold water. Even the very mention of drinking it would be out of the question.

　　Finally， the old couple resorted to boiling water at home and taking it into the hospital in a thermos for their daughter to use.

　　Digging

　　When it comes to accounting for this gargantuan cultural difference， many Chinese people have a variety of intriguing theories.

　　One argument is that it is the result of practices which have been inherited as part and parcel of China’s “cultural DNA.” “The Chinese people are used to having hot beverages： hot water， tea， and soup. In the past， we even drank hot wine，” said Chen Mingyuan， an expert on cultural exchanges between China and the West.

　　“This habit is an outcome of the thousands of years of our history and civilization， and it is embedded into our genes，” said Chen.

　　This practice probably dates back to the ancient times when pottery was created， according to Chen. Pottery was the next landmark creation after human beings first learned to use fire. It was a merger of fire and earth. With it， human beings had a container for water that wouldn’t leak or became soaked through and disintegrate. It was universally used by all major civilizations across the world.

　　Although both the ancient Chinese and Western people used pottery， from the offset， there was a very big difference in how such ceramics were historically employed.

　　The various pottery items of the ancient Egyptian and Greek worlds displayed in the museums of Western countries today are all simple containers. There was no artifacts used for boiling water such as those dating back to the time of ancient Chinese civilizations， said Chen.

　　The use of pottery to heat water was an innovation unique to the Chinese. It is from this era that the Chinese nation formed the habit of drinking hot water， a practice still in existence today.

　　Another argument holds that the different drinking habits arise as a result of different dietary practices. In Chinese medicine， it is held that different types of food correspond to the qualities of “heatiness” (internal heat) or “coldness” (internal cold).

　　In their diet， American people eat a lot of steak， seafood and other types of meat， which contain an abundance of calories. Thus， they need to drink cold water to cool down their bodies from the dryness caused by eating meat. On the contrary， Chinese people eat more vegetables than their Western peers. Therefore， they need to drink hot water to warm the stomach and drive away the coldness.

　　Zhu Xun’s story is an excellent example of this. She went to Paris to study for a Master’s degree after graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Beijing. After completing her study， she stayed and worked in Paris. Now aged 34， she is mother of two boys.

　　“I have preferred vegetables over meat since childhood. Also， I wanted to keep slender， so I ate very little meat. And I never drank cold water， which would cause me to have a stomachache. But things changed completely after I settled down in France，” she said.

　　“After I came to France， I found there were barely any vegetables but plenty of cheese and meat at the dining table. I had no choice but to eat meat. The thing is， after eating steak and cheese， when I drank hot water， I found it to be a very uncomfortable sensation. The hot water smelled scented and was hard to swallow down，” she said.

　　“On the contrary， when I drank cold water， both my tongue and my stomach felt good. After some time， I got used to drinking cold water，” she said. “No wonder there is an old saying： ’When in Rome， do as the Romans do.’ Following the local people’s eating and drinking habits is the right choice to make if you want to adapt to the environment of a new country.”

　　Gradually， she became completely accustomed to the French diet. But the interesting thing was， when she had vacations in Beijing， she would soon resume her old habits and found herself easily able to fluctuate between the drinking practices native to both cultures.

　　“So I have concluded that Chinese drinking habits are a product both of one’s native physical features and the structure and consistency of the food they are eating，” she said.

　　Traditional Chinese medicine also supports the practice of drinking hot water. “Compared to cold water， warm water is closer to the body’s temperature. The nutrition it provides can thus be more easily absorbed，” said Yang Li， a traditional Chinese health expert at the Xiyuan Hospital of China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Beijing.

　　By Yu Yan