One of my first items of business after my great American
adventure was to charge my phone. Since
I do not read Chinese, each month I trek the two blocks to Family Mart where I
pay my phone bill on the bilingual China Unicom atm. Usually this is a quick, easy errand. Last Wednesday the chore felt like a
marathon. After paying my bill, I
returned to my apartment sopping wet and breathless. I figured the trip was rough because I had
gotten used to running errands in cars during my trip to the States and I was
out of shape. I pulled out my freshly
charged phone to find the following:
I am not completely out of shape…it is HOT in
Shanghai! One of the most frustrating
things about living in the Shanghainese heat is not having a car. If I want to leave my apartment, I have to suck it
up and melt in the tropical humidity. I
made the decision that this summer, I will face the heat like a
Chinaman. I know there are many people
out there who are working and living in this oppressive heat without AC. I will follow their lead and battle
the heat like a native. Here are some of
their solutions I tried.
The Umbrella
The majority of Chinese women have incredibly beautiful
porcelain skin. From a very young age
many ladies protect themselves from the sun’s harmful UV rays by using special sumbrellas while walking outside.
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| Many of the sunbrellas have fancy lace... |
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| and sequins too! |
I gave in and spent 50 RMB on a frilly, pink, “This
(shopping) is my first passion” parasol to see if I could get any relief.
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| I always wanted a frilly, pink parasol! |
Unfortunately, the umbrella did not provide the much-anticipated
shade. So I went to my plan b.
The Hat
Many folks around these parts try to stay cool by wearing
straw hats.
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| A Chinese woman beats the heat while pedaling to her garden. |
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| Perhaps one of these would work. |
Personally, I was never a fan of wearing a hat in the
summer. Hats just trapped heat on my head, and made me even sweatier. Maybe Chinese hats are different. Perhaps Chinese
caps are cooler, so I revisited the the idea of chapeau as heat buster.
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| This hat is hotter than it looks. |
Unfortunately, I was still broiling. It was time to pull out the bigger guns.
The Hand Fan
Since the second century BC, Chinese folks have used
lightweight hand-held fans to cool down.
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| Fans: they're not just for dancing! |
Unfortunately, our church does not have heat or
air-conditioning, so I decided to pull out a fan as soon as I entered our
church-sauna . I was not the only one
who had that idea.
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| Mass in the summer is a sweltering experience. |
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| This portable fan comes in very handy! |
The fan and a few prayers for a breeze helped! However, my wrist started cramping halfway through the sermon so the hand fan was a temporary solution. I needed something cooler…
The Popsicle
Some of my favorite childhood summer memories include
slurping banana popsicles. So, I knew
gourmet popsicles in Tianzifang would definitely hit the spot.
Finally, I had found something to keep me cool…for about
five minutes.
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| The lemon popsicles at Chance Cafe are by far my favorite. |
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| The kiwi pops are really refreshing also! |
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| Many of the pops are made from fresh fruit. |
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| I enjoyed the cool, creamy tiramisu goodness. |
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| This kiddo agrees that the popsicles are tasty! |
Mind you, not all of the popsicles were as yummy as the
Lemon and Kiwi bars. Chinese folks have some of their own favorite flavors.
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| This stand featured saltwater, green bean, red bean, and sticky rice pops. |
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| Chris tried a sticky rice popsicle. It tasted like vanilla ice cream with rice. |
FYI, Many Chinese folks believe that green beans are a
vegetable that will naturally cool you.
Chris says that Bosch serves Green Bean soup everyday at lunch during
the summer to cool down their employees.
Not all folks go for popsicles, however.
The Bellies
Many Chinese men try to cool off by pulling their shirts
over their stomachs.
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| A bare bellied man enjoys his late night snack. |
“Aerating their navels to cool down and improve their
overall health by absorbing their inner chi through their exposed bellies.”
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| Why not cool off while surfing online? |
I have the feeling that this practice is not meant for
women, so I tried to find the most extreme way to cool off outside my
apartment.
Sno-Bar
After a long, hot day at ChinaJoy, I was fed up and ready to
cool off. So a few friends and I went to the coldest place in Shanghai,
Sno-Bar.
Sno-Bar is a vodka bar that has a temperature of -5
°C. Mind you, I was not visiting for the vodka, I
was going to see if I could really cool off in what was supposed to be a snowy
Shanghai oasis.
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| Tiff and Brita take a break from the heat. |
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| Yes, I am wearing a parka, shorts, and flip flops. Sno-bar provides the coats so patrons stay warm. FYI, unlike many other ice bars, the tables are plastic. |
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| The silk flowers in the shaved ice added a nice, decorative touch. |
It was nice to have my toes feel a
little numb for a few minutes. At the
end of the time in the fridge/ bar I was ready to warm up.
I guess the only way I will stay
relatively cool for a while is by staying in my apartment during the day. If you are reading this in a steamy climate
like Shanghai, please stay cool and hydrated! Also remember to look out for our four legged friends! High temperatures may lead to blistered paws. Hopefully cooler weather will be here soon!
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| Or maybe not. |
