Chapters 84 - 85 Heat, Water

Chapter 84

100 Degrees at Noon and Walking

For anyone who reads this, they might decide that something is wrong with me or it is just humorous or maybe both. It would get hot starting in May and June. It could be 100 degrees plus humidity. I was in Luoyang the summer of 2003 and the heat index could be 105 or more and also high humidity. That is normal there. That first time when I was in Luoyang I wasn’t too far from Luopu Park, maybe 2-3 miles. I would walk there at noon sometimes and when it was so hot no one else would be there. It was a nice time for me to be alone. My friends thought I was nuts of course.

Being I am talking about how hot it is there, maybe someone would find this interesting. I read this once and it explains some things. Caucasians have twice as many sweat glands as Asians. That may be why the Asians can’t take the heat as well as we can, we sweat more. Also they get cold easier. Maybe they need to eat more junk food.

Something else that is different between our cultures. Americans use umbrellas when it rains. Asians use umbrellas when it rains, snows or in the summer when it is hot to protect them from the sun. An umbrella keeps the rain off of us so we don’t get wet, the umbrella keeps the snow off and then our clothes don’t get wet from the snow melting.

The umbrellas that are used in the sun are different than the ones for rain. The ones used for sunshine are thicker, they are not to be used for rain.

As for using umbrellas when the sun is shining and it is hot, there are two stories about this. Long ago, the Chinese Emperor and his family would shade themselves with umbrellas or by being inside their skin was white and not tan. Of course, everyone would like to be like the Emperor and his family. That is why Asian people use umbrellas when the sun shines or wear long sleeves. The second story about not wanting to be tan and having white skin is that farmers and peasants were not thought highly of long ago. They worked in the fields and their skin would be tan. Other people didn't want to be looked at as farmers or peasants, they didn't want to be labeled as a common worker I guess, so they covered their skin and used umbrellas so their skin would stay white.

Americans can’t wait to wear shorts and short sleeved shirts. We want to be tan like movie stars, we think it is more attractive than our white skin. One hot summer day in Luoyang when I was walking down the street and it was a hundred degrees, I saw a Chinese lady wearing a light long sleeved sweater and the sweater and her pants were black. Can you imagine how hot she would have been? Like I said, they don’t have as many sweat glands as we do so maybe that makes the difference. I also remember walking with Chinese friends and when it was sunny and hot, we would go to the side of the street where it was shaded and walk there.

Chapter 85

Drinking Water

Do Not drink the water in China unless you want to go to the hospital. It is not safe. Drink bottled water only. It can be found everywhere and it is cheap. Do not drink water out of the faucet. If you go to a restaurant and ask for cold water, don’t expect to have ice cubes in it. When you go to a restaurant, you will usually get hot water or hot tea when you sit down. In my apartment, if I would want ice cubes I could use water from the 5-gallon jug of water that I had in my place or I could buy the bottles in the store and put some water in the ice cube trays, then it would be safe to use in pop or water to make it cold.

The first time that I was in Luoyang I was told this story. A foreigner that had been there a few years before me had brushed his teeth and ran water over his toothbrush as he was brushing and so the water got in him. He was in the hospital for three days. They had to pump his stomach because of the bacteria in the water.