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« on: September 03, 2018, 07:52:22 am »
I can relate with not wanting to have AC. I live in Japan and when I first moved here I asked an old woman what I should do to really understand Japanese culture. She said that I should go through the summer without AC -- without even an electric fan. Only use a hand fan. And I should go through the winter without using heating (it doesn't usually freeze where I live :-) ). "To be Japanese is to be intimately aware of the weather", she said.
You may think I'm crazy (well, those of you who have read my posts will have no doubt...), but I tried it that year. I made it through the summer and I made it to March, before I broke in the winter. Having done that, I understood what she was trying to say. We isolate ourselves in our climate bubbles. Without AC (or even electric fans), and without heat, what is the difference between inside and outside? Why would I cower in my hovel (and it *was* a hovel -- I was paying the equivalent of $150 a month :-)), when I could be out and doing things? Why would I waste my life being afraid of getting hot or cold or whatever? I was *already* hot (or cold... or whatever).
And the seasons! When I first came to Japan, people would ask me, "Do you have 4 seasons in your country" -- which seemed like an odd question. Of course we have 4 seasons in Canada! But... what is the difference between summer and winter? Hockey on TV vs. CFL Football (yeah, I watched that...)? I'd hide in my room, eating food grown in California -- always the same tasteless crap, picked 3 weeks ago in some field irrigated with water that would ordinarily go to Mexico, and picked by Mexicans who can't grow food in their own country any more. Then flown to Canada to sit on a shelf for a week before I shove it down my neck with barely a second thought.
Now I know the names of every plant that grows around me (in Japanese, not English). I watch the river go through its cycles of bust and boom. I see the herons nest, have chicks, teach them how to fish and then eventually fly off. I watch the seaweed wash up on the beach, and the old women go out to harvest it in the dead of winter. I eat food that is grown by my neighbours (Like, I go to the supermarket and their face is on the freaking bag). I see them harvest the food, pack it up, drive it to the distribution centre and then I see it in the supermarket 1 day later. I know what it means when they say that an autumn eggplant is too good for a bride. And I *crave* grilled meat in the summer (with copious quantities of beer!). And stew in the winter, "accidentally" cuddling with my wife as we both try to pick out the best bits from the pot. I can tell you, to the day, when each kind of fruit should appear in the market and I'm waiting impatiently for each.
I bought AC for the guest bedroom this summer because my niece was coming to stay for a month (as a kind of Japanese homestay). We used it. This has been the longest, hottest, most horrible summer since I've been in Japan. AC is no good for people.
Having said that, I'm getting older and I have health issues. I can't go a winter without heat. I will literally die. Some day soon, I will have to have AC. I scold my mother in law (who is in her mid 80's) that she *must* use her AC when it is over 35 degrees with 60-80 percent humidity. She ignores me, but I can see the toll it takes on her. She knows better than I what she loses when she uses that AC.
For many, it's hard to see why you would endure discomfort. Now that I've done it for almost 10 years, I can't imagine giving it up. (BTW, there is *nothing* in the world that is more decadent and amazing than a hot water bottle in the winter. You have not lived until you try it :-)).
