H20 on two different continents

I am a self-proclaimed water connoisseur. In other words, I'm super picky about my water. I can detect even the slightest hint of a foul taste; this usually happens when I drink out of public drinking fountains. I often wonder to myself if the water has been traveling through sewage-infested pipes or something equally disgusting.

My water must be ice cold. Lukewarm water just doesn't quench my thirst. But if ice cubes are added, the water often takes on a faintly metallic flavor. So I get my water from a refrigerated Brita pitcher or directly from the refrigerator itself. Even then--at least in the latter case--it isn't always cold enough.

So, tonight at my college group, the speaker mentioned that he had recently returned from Africa. While there, he had seen a young girl holding a water bottle. In that bottle was poop-colored liquid mixed with bits of grass and who knows what else. This sight humbled him considerably and made him think about how ridiculously privileged he--and all other Americans, really--is in comparison to those poor Africans.

I feel so pampered and ungrateful...