英COMのセオリー

（Vol.29）　The heat is on!

written by Seth Radke

When I go out for spicy food I usually ask the waiter/waitress to tell the chef to pour on the heat. Meaning I want my food extra hot/spicy. When I am playing catch with my brother or father I tell them to bring on the heat. Meaning I want them to throw the baseball as hard as they can. When I am in Japan during the summer I don’t have to make any requests when it comes to outside temps, as the ‘heat’ is already on.

In the home I grew up in we did not use or own air conditioners. We may turn on a fan to get better air circulation in the summer, but that is about it. I am not saying that it doesn’t get hot where I am from, but because of the way our homes are built they seem to repel a certain amount of the outside elements. In the winter our homes tend to be toasty warm and in the summer somewhat cooler that the outside temps.

In my new home (not an actual home but an apartment) here in Japan it seems like it is the opposite of what I have already described. During the winter I always feel it is colder in my apartment than it is outside. It’s funny that I feel absolutely no guilt in using my heater in the winter, but when it comes to an air conditioner in the summer I can’t help but feel like I am affording myself an unnecessary luxury. Perhaps it is because of my being raised in an extremely harsh winter environment. And yet, in the summer months unless the A/C is cranked to the max our apartment is like an oven. This seems to be the case especially on weekends when I do some cooking and have the burners and the oven going. I guess I just have to grim and bare it and sweat until the cows come home.

So when I say the heat is on! I mean that it is hot and there is nothing I can do about it. That said, I would someday like to live on or near the equator just to see what it would be like. Then the heat would really be on.

日本語訳

ザ　ヒート　イズ　オン！

私は辛いものを食べに行く時、ウェイターに「pour on the heat」と頼みます。これは、「激辛にしてください。」という意味です。また、兄や父とキャッチボールをする時は「bring on the heat!」と叫びます。「全力で投げて！」という意味です。そして、日本の夏は…誰に頼まなくても「the heat is on」。すでに暑いのです。

カナダの実家では、部屋内の空気を動かすための扇風機があるぐらいで、夏の間でもエアコンは使わないし、ありませんでした。カナダの夏も暑いのですが、外の影響（温度など）をある程度防ぐことができる家の作りだったのでしょう。冬は、家の中は気持ちの良い暖かさで、夏は外の暑さよりもいくらかは涼しい感じがします。

日本での新しい家（賃貸アパートですが）ではまるで正反対で、冬は、外よりも寒く感じます。私の場合、非常に厳しい寒さの中で育ってきたせいか、冬は平気で暖房を使うのに、夏のエアコンとなるとなぜか贅沢だと感じてしまいます。それでもなお、夏はエアコンを強風に設定していないと、オーブンの中にいるようです。週末にコンロやオーブンを使って料理の腕をふるう時は、更に暑く、我慢しながらいつまでも大汗をかくといった様子です。

そんな訳で、「the heat is on!」と言われても、私は暑すぎて何も出来ません。もし、赤道上に住んだら私はどうなってしまうでしょう？ちょっと試してみたいです。そうなったら本当の「ザ　ヒート　イズ　オン！」ですね。

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