Dealing with sickness is always a large concern for travelers, and is the reason why we visit costly travel clinics, take series upon series of painful injections, and get the lectured over and over again about the dangers of local food and water. Often times, our fears and concerns of a new place grow excessively (过分的 guòfènde) wild, and we neglect the fact that just like our attitudes, our stomaches must adjust to our new environment. I’m not saying throw away your anti-diuretics, and get rid of your immodium because trust me, you’ll need them. Just realize this, there’s a reason why the locals eat all the local food and don’t get sick: they’ve fortified their own Iron Stomaches.

I decided that before we delve into Chinese food (and there is so much of it), I should at least talk a little about acclimating （因应yīnyìnɡ）to that delicious food.

First, I will warn you about drinking water in China. While in Cities like Beijing and Shanghai it has been deemed “safe to drink” by the government, and is most likely sterilized. Four years ago, completely different story (as I had the misfortune of finding out on my second day in Beijing). However, I would suggest drinking bottled water or if you live there, doing what every Chinese citizen does, buy a 5 gallon water cooler. The reason for avoiding tap water is due to the degradation of water pipes and high levels of toxic metals. So save yourself the worry, and stick to water coolers. This is especially convenient and cheap if you live in an apartment. Usually you just call up a number on the empty tank of water, tell them to “请带来一桶水。。。your apartment number” of “please bring one tank of water to…” and within minutes you’ll have a new tank of water all for about 10-15 块。

As for food, let your stomach be your compass. If you don’t like spicy food, well then I wouldn’t suggest a plate of 麻婆豆腐on your first day. If you aren’t a huge fan of meat, maybe avoid 串。But, if you’re like me, and you will try anything once, then by all means, go nuts! Don’t be afraid to try something new and exotic, especially if it’s street food or from some hole in the wall shop. Sure, I know your doctor (that same one who has never been to China) says it’s unsafe, yet people eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner, everyday, for the entirety of their lives. All it takes is just a little getting used to. After all, did you come all the way to China to eat McDonalds and KFC?

I have only been really sick in China twice, after living there for a combined two years. The first time, as alluded to before, was caused by unsafe drinking water, which could have been easily avoided. So lesson learned. The other time, and the story I often tell to friends and family for a laugh, was caused by pride and one immensely spicy sichuanese “insanity” pepper.

It occurred when I was in 徐州市, looking for a cheap bite to eat. I went to a local noodle place run by recently displaced Sichuanese earthquake survivors. Before me was a massive cauldron brewing with spices I’d never seen before. Being a fan of spicy food, I began talking to the man stirring the pot. He brought out two cups of 白酒 báijiǔ (rubbing alcohol like grain liquor), and after a few toasts of the stuff, I made my rookie mistake. “How hot do you want it”, asked my new 朋友？Without thinking, or maybe just to impress the guy, I used one of my favorite Chinese grammar patterns: “越 + adjective +越好“ or in my case “越辣越好” or “the spicier the better”. He told me that these peppers are some of the hottest in the world, and to demonstrate, pulled a full one out of the pot, tossed it in his mouth, quickly ate and swallowed it, finishing with a grin. He didn’t ask for a drink or shed a tear or appear at all visibly affected. So I repeated my claim, telling him I could handle Sichuanese spicy food, and within minutes had a bowl of fiery death awaiting me.

Now let me preface this with saying that I have always thought myself to have an iron stomach, especially after four years of College and three trips to China. If I’ve seen it, I’ve eaten it and been no worse for the wear after. So I mistakenly thought (以为…) I could eat anything, no matter what it was, and somehow be able to avoid praying to the porcelain gods. I could up until this fateful night.

My first spoonful of soup instantly killed all taste buds, well all but those that could register spice. I became instantly flushed, and started sweating, which I became aware of as 朋友 came over with more 白酒 and a bowl of his own. Glugging the 白酒 in hopes that it would numb some of the pain, and finding only a growing burn, I decided that I wasn’t going to lose face 丢脸, and took to fervently slurping down my bowl of noodles in front of my adoring audience. About half way through the task, I felt to be literally drinking lava, all the while 朋友 was just sitting there nonchalantly eating, drinking and asking me about America. Did he not realize I was in excruciating pain? 2/3rds of the way through, I had had enough gasping, “吃饱了，” or “l’m stuffed/full”. I promptly paid and went next door slugging yogurt drink and beer until the burning had subsided somewhat. Little did I know the insanity pepper had just begun it’s all out attack on my body (身体)。

The ingredient in peppers that causes spice or burning is called capsaicin, which interestingly enough is a poison in large doses. I found out this fact within two hours after leaving 朋友’s, when the walls of my hotel room started melting and my brain became 糊里糊涂 （mixed up and in confusion). Over the next two days, I was unable to leave my hotel room, hallucinating, running a fever and feeling the effects of the dreaded 拉肚子 which translates literally as “pull stomach”…yeah I’ll let you figure that one out by yourselves. What did I learn from the experience? One, I’ll never eat one of those peppers ever again in my life. Two, and most importantly, it takes time and patience to build up an “iron stomach”. Ease your way into Chinese food, and you’ll soon find you love it–even the things you thought you’d never eat.