Water

Thoại Khanh

I've been drinking water all my life. I thought I knew water well. In fact, I though there was not much one needed to know about water. Way back in the day in my physics class, I was taught that water consisted of two elements of H and one element of O, and people drank it to sustain life. I still remember my how mother boiled the water and stored them in the glass bottle for the whole family. Actually, my brothers and I did not bother about the boiled water. Arriving home from school, we went directly to the water vat, stirred the water a little to get the mosquito larvae out of the way, and scooped up the water in our hands. It was refreshingly delicious. More than once, a couple of larvae got swallowed with the water. It did not change the taste a bit.

When I got to New Zealand, I was happy to see that the Kiwis drank the water right out of the tap, not bothering with fussy boiled water. It seems that the Kiwis are as tough as we are. Actually, I originally thought that they were a little tougher than we were when I saw them washing their dishes. They just pulled the dishes out of the sink, full of soap bubbles, and wiped them dry with a cloth. But then I realized that there is a difference between toughness and civilization.

My confidence in my knowledge of water was violently shaken after I arrived in the US. When I visited a Kiwi alumnus in the progressive Silicon Valley, I saw a big round thing on every tap in his house. My friend proudly told me that he just installed these water filters to soften the water. I never heard of the term soft water before, so I put my fingers in his water and it felt exactly the same as any water that I touched before.

• You don't understand that the water around here is heavy with minerals and can be dangerous to your health?
• You mean that the water here is worse than in Viet Nam?
• Oh, sure. In VN, there are bugs in the water that, at worst, give you a stomachache for a few days. Here the water is contaminated and it can kill you if you are not careful.

Seeing that I was not convinced, he took me for a ride to the shops in Little Saigon. There, I saw people with plastic containers queuing around the water machine, jostling to get to the water. Water ran from the machine, wandered around the footpath, collecting dirt and rubbish before ending up in the gutter, just like the scene at home in my village around the water fountain. The only difference is that, here in America, you have to pay for the water. At home, at least it is free. Who said that life is good in America?

Then we went into a shop and, lo and behold, there must have been hundreds of different types of water on sale; small bottles, large bottles, water in glass containers, water in plastic containers, water by the quart, water by the gallon, water from deep springs, water from snowy mountains, water from fjords, exotic water from New Zealand and ice water from Antarctica.

Later that night, my friend took me to one of the upscale watering holes, where water is not only drunk, it is revered. The waiter announced in a solemn voice:

• We have imported and domestic water. The specials this week are Rocky Mountain 79, a special produce from the heavy snowfall in 79 and the Canadian Clear 98, a slightly musty taste from the 98 El Nino. Today, we also have special New Zealand Mount Cook 1975 water by the glass. We also have house water by the glass and carafe.
• What is special about Mount Cook 1975? I couldn't help but ask.
• It was before the invasion of the Mít, sir, therefore it has a more Anglo-Saxon taste.
• And the ice? My friend asked in a knowing voice.
• The ice is made from house water, sir.
• Ok, I'll start with a glass of house water with ice for my appetizer, and a bottle of Chateau Pyrenee water, chilled, no ice with my entrée and a glass of Mount Cook special with my dessert.
• Very good sir

When the water was served, my friend insisted that I taste the house water first.

• Take a sip, close your eyes, swirl the water around your mouth and feel the taste.

I obeyed. My friend enthused:

• Good water, isn't it? It has the right combination of H and O. Pure and simple and refreshing, maybe with a pinch of oak.

I couldn't count the thousands of Hydrogen and Oxygen atoms to verify my friend's statement. But I noticed a little aroma of copper, mixed with a little fishy relish, most likely from the ice cubes, and a dash of garlic from the unwashed hands of the chef, but what do I know about water, so I had to accept his statement at face value.

The Chateau Pyrenee water was so-so, my friend concluded after we finish half of the bottle. But the Mount Cook water was special.

• Gosh, I love this water. It is so refreshing. It has a little hint of pine and somehow a little tint of lavender.

I thought about the white powdered snow of Mount Cook, the dark pine forest on the mountain, the lush green grass growing on the steep hills, the thousands sheep feeding on the grass, the millions of sheep droppings on the green grass and the streams of water flowing from the mountain through the grass carrying the droppings down to the valley where the water was collected and I swear that I could detect a trace of E. coli in the water. But again, what do I know about water?

The dinner with my friend left such a strong impact on me that I started to notice how the Americans are so dependent on their water. It seems that people carry water with them everywhere they went. People take water with them on the plane as if water is going to cost them an arm and a leg. People carry water in little plastic bottles (the new design with a nipple that you have to suck hard to get the water out) to work as if they were going on a safari with no water for hundreds of miles. People carry water in large bottles from meeting to meeting.

Comedian George Calin, in one of his shows, noticed that America is a nation full of thirsty people. He could not understand since when we became so thirsty.

But I know. There is an old Vietnamese saying: "Cha ăn mặn, con khát nước",

The previous generations of Americans were full of sin. You probably read the news that President Thomas Jefferson fathered a child with one of his slaves. That why this generation of Americans are the thirsty lot. Considering the behavior of President Clinton and his cigar, I'm afraid that the thirst will be with the Americans for a few generations to come.

(What a coincidence, I have been drinking water all my life too! - Ed)