A New Kind of Dorm Problem

Today I'm going to board a train for Shanghai. As is many people's custom, I went to take a shower so I could be clean for the long trip. I got into the shower, turned the water on, and waited for it to warm up. This is my normal routine. It took a little longer than usual to warm up today. Just as I began to think that the hot water might be gone, the water turned warm. I waited a few more seconds, and stepped in the water.

About 30 seconds following my entrance into the water, I was greeted with nearly boiling water. The water didn't ever stop heating up, and it was really unbearable. I turned the cold water up, and the water got hotter. When counter-intuitive things like this happen, lately I mutter to myself, "Damn it, China. What are you doing?" Today was similar, but involved a bit more cursing as my skin was being scalded by the water bouncing off the floor even after I jumped out of the water.

I turned the hot water off, and found that then no water was coming from the showerhead (read: open pipe). "Are you kidding me?!" But, in fact, it was not kidding me. There was no cold water. None. I turned the handle for cold as far as it could go, and all I heard was air in the pipes. I showered as much as possible until I couldn't handle it anymore, and then left the shower. I checked the sink faucets for cold water, and again there was none.

To me, this seems like a strange problem to have. I'm sure I'll find out soon that this is not uncommon, but for right now, I am throwing out a huge "What the hell??" to my dorm.