Beware, Beware...the COLD WATER!!!!!!!!!

I just had a "nice" conversation with my boss.

{Background info: When I first came to China, last August, it took me some time to adjust to the water served at restaurants...it's really warm, it's hot. People here believe that drinking cold water and eating cold food is generally unhealthy. We've had many discussions, occasionally bordering on argument, with our friends here about that concept, just because it's so vastly different from what Americans think. A couple of our girl friends even told us that if you drink cold water (or eat chocolate or drink alcohol) while on your menstrual period (sorry guys...), it will STOP and you will get sick. Yup. All my friends here are convinced of it, and I need to do more research. People are shocked to hear we believe differently than them. Our most recent consensus: Since it clearly affects Asians, but not Westerners, maybe it comes down to some type of genetic difference, or our bodies are respectively already so used to each way of doing things? I've yet to look up the "science" behind this...}

Sinnina: Why do you drink cold water (with an incredulous, almost angry, look on her face)?
Me: It's not cold. It's warm. I like.
 Her: You should drink hot water. Cold water is a little bad for your health.
Me: It's okay. In America, I always drink cold or warm water. We think to drink hot water is a little strange (I felt mean saying that, but it's quite hard to communicate with her sometimes :D)
Her: But, cold water...
Me:I don't like hot water. Maybe America and China are different.
Her: Yes, they are very different.
*Pause*
Her: Go get hot water now. (I hesitate for a minute)
Me: ...I already have water...
Her: Go. Hot water is good.


*I go walk to fill up my water bottle with steaming hot water to appease her, just enough to make my "cold" water warm.* (If I drink ONLY that steaming hot water, it's a good 10 minutes before it cools enough for me to sip it.)


SIGH. Oh, culture shock, you continue to get the best of me from time to time. It's even trickier when the language barrier prevents you from fully expressing yourself (often the case with my boss and I). And this water isn't even the most important. Please pr*y that we, with HIS help, will be able to find ways around culture and language barrier, to tell people about the living water, the ONE who can truly satisfy ><>