Stories from when I taught Japanese in China: Heatstroke and the shock of the toilets

Hello. I am the mother of a rhinoceros beetle.

It is hot every day, but how is everyone doing?

Heatstroke is becoming a problem with this heat, but what I remember when I think of "heatstroke" is
toilets in China.

About a quarter of a century ago, I was teaching Japanese in China.

One time, a colleague invited me to go to a Mongolian festival called "Naadam" held in Inner Mongolia.

At that festival, Mongolian wrestling and other events were held, and I saw a scene that was quite different from Han Chinese China.

I found this on note. I wonder if it was written by a Mongolian person in China. ↓

It was a very valuable experience, but the problem was the toilet!

The festival venue was a special site set up on the grasslands for that day, and the toilets were also built just for that day.

Speaking of public toilets in China, it was common for them to have no doors (I wonder how it is now?), but since I had been stationed there for about a year, I was already quite used to it by then.

However, the toilet I saw at that festival was shocking!!

The surroundings were enclosed by something like a large tent so you couldn't see inside, but once you entered, there was just a long, narrow hole (a trench?) dug out, with boards to place your feet on laid down haphazardly—a truly primitive thing.

It was a long time ago, so my memory of the details is not certain, but I feel like it was set up so that about 10 people could use it at once.
There were no walls or partitions, so it felt like you were using the toilet side-by-side with the person next to you.
(Even in regular doorless toilets, there are walls on three sides.)

Even for me, that was just too much...

I will absolutely not use the toilet here! I swore to myself.

I'll stop drinking water so I don't have to go to the toilet.

However, it was a very hot day.

Inner Mongolia can reach temperatures below -20 to -30 degrees Celsius in winter, but in summer, it gets hot, exceeding 30 degrees.

And there I was, not drinking any water on such a hot day.

Gradually, something started to feel wrong with my body.

My stomach started to hurt...

Oh, this is bad.

I started breaking out in a cold sweat, and I couldn't hold it in any longer...

So, I made up my mind and rushed into the pit toilet.

There was no time to worry about being embarrassed or anything else.
Desperate times call for desperate measures!

I managed to finish my business and felt relieved, but then my head started to ache, and I was in no condition to enjoy the festival anymore. I was allowed to lie down in a yurt (a Mongolian-style tent) prepared for breaks.
I was allowed to lie down in a yurt (a Mongolian-style tent) prepared for breaks.

Back then, although the term heatstroke
was becoming more widely known, knowledge about how to treat it—like drinking water or cooling the body down—was not yet common sense. Being ignorant, I just closed my eyes and lay there.

While I was lying there, my stomach started hurting again...

In the end, I had to use that toilet five or six times.

My decision to avoid drinking water because I absolutely didn't want to use that toilet backfired,
leading to an ironic result. I also felt bad for the colleague who had brought me there.

However, having used that toilet, I felt like there was nothing left to fear!!
A strange sense of confidence sprouted within me, and I felt like I had grown as vast and grand as the land of China itself.

That was my memory of heatstroke.

Everyone, please make sure to drink water frequently so you don't get heatstroke.

Thank you for reading today.
The hot days continue, so please take care of yourselves.