The first thing you learn about China is that it's not safe to drink the tap water. Everything from Ghiardia to flat out pollution is in there, and boiling the tap water first doesn't really put you in the clear - the pollutants stay in the water; you can even see hard water stains on the pot you've boiled it in.

So, short of hiking it down to the corner store every day for a 3 kuai two-liter bottle of water, how are you supposed to stay hydrated?

The answer is water coolers. They're incredibly cheap here in China - I bought my combination water cooler / heater for around 40 Yuan - six American dollars or so. Now keep in mind, neither the heating nor cooling elements work in my Chinese water cooler, but that's not what's important - my cooler holds one gigantic 18.2 liter jug of water, and that can last for quite a long time.

Many foreigners living and studying in China don't have such a jug - it's a language barrier. Even if you can manage to buy the water cooler, you've still got to find a local water distributor in your neighborhood, and then you've got to manage to tell him what you want and where you live.
Luckily for me, my pathetic Chinese was up to the task. I asked my Xiao Mai Bu (corner store) lady where to find the water guy, then went out looking for him every afternoon until I found him one afternoon refilling his pedal cart with water jugs.

After a quick conversation I'd managed to tell him that I wanted water, and learned how to say the word "jug" - "Dong," and an hour later he arrived at my place with 18.2 sweet, sweet liters of water for the low cost of 15 Kuai - about two dollars.

Mine ran out this morning while I was trying to make coffee. Badness. I pulled out my cell phone, dialed up water guy, and told him I'm the foreigner in building 25.

This is the easiest way to make Chinese people know who you are when you're living in China. Don't beat around the bush. Don't tell him "I"m that guy you met by the back gate." Just tell him, "I'm the foreigner." You can get food, water, just about everything you need delivered like this. I can't imagine how Chinese people get things delivered - "Hey, I'm the guy with the black hair."

Point is, less than ten minutes later, I had 18.2 liters of drinkable water in my apartment again, and I didn't even have to leave the house - the weather in Beijing is terrifying outside today, rainy and foggy and smoggy all at the same time.

But no matter - thanks to a smattering of Chinese ability and the foresight of getting water guy's cell phone number, I'm drinking hot coffee in China right now and loving every second of it.