Hot and Sticky

BEIJING, China — Like everything else in life, heat is great, in moderation. At Bethel Foster Home in rural Beijing, where I am volunteering as a piano teacher and resident translator for blind or visually impaired orphans, it was 41 degrees Celcius today. That’s 105.8 degrees Fahrenheit, for you Americans. Hotter than body temperature, way into fever, and way, way past moderation. Let me describe some simple ways that heat manifests itself.

•Thanks to sweat, underwear sticks to skin like glue. Note the third person—helping cute toddlers position themselves on the toilet just got twice as awkward.

•Even sitting still is susceptible to intense sweating. The kids love to hug and hold hands. You can imagine the result of this touchy-feely behavior.

•The red bean ice cream bars I bought for the volunteers melted on the bike ride back from the store. Oh well, still (nearly) as yummy!

•Heat sucks both physical energy and brainpower. In today’s social competency class, all the students were occupied with fanning themselves and wiping sweat. “Pan Pan, is it a good idea to hit someone back if they hit you first?” I translated in Chinese. “Yes,” came the drowsy reply...

•My legs stick to any surface—the piano bench, wooden chairs, leather couch—and, when lifted, make this noise between a smack and whoosh. The locals don’t experience this, as they wear light cotton pants and no one seems to wear jeans or shorts around here.

•Heat is to flies as alcohol is to man. Today, there were at least 20 flies in the office, all swirling lazily and crookedly. And since I’m covered with sweat, these flies would boldly venture near my ear or nose, unafraid of being swatted. Actually, the fly swatter is currently broken from overuse.

But, body temperature aside, Bethel Foster Home, with its delicious and authentic (unlike Annenberg) Chinese cooking, daily music and prayers, and the bonds that I've formed with the friendly and intelligent kids, has made all that sweat worthwhile.


Helen X. Yang ’12 is a Crimson news writer in Adams House.