ローラ：そんな格好で、よく暑くありませんね。
私：やせ我慢しているだけで、本当はとても暑いのよ。
Yase gaman
Roora: Sonna kakko de, yoku atsuku arimasen ne.
Watashi: Yasegaman shite iru dake de, hontoo wa totemo atsui no yo.
Laura: I'm surprised you're not hot dressed like that.
Me: I'm just putting on a brave face; actually I'm boiling.
Yase-gaman means forced endurance. When used with the verb suru, it means to endure something for the sake of style or pride; to grin and bear it.
This summer in England was unusually hot I usually go there with the intention of escaping the heat, but this year it was so hot I felt like I needed to go somewhere else to get away from it At the college in Cambridge where I stayed, Reiboo setsubi mo nai no de, mado wo akete yasegaman da. (There were no air-conditioning facilities, so I had to open the window and grin and bear it.)
The Japanese summer is always hot, so wherever you go there is air-conditioning. But in England it is quite the opposite: on the subway, on the buses, in shops and libraries - nowhere seems to have air-conditioning. But Yasegaman wo shite wa irarenai kurai ni atsukatta (It was so hot you couldn't just grin and hear it), and pretend that you didn't need it.
All of the clothes I took to England were long-sleeved, so Saisho no uchi wa yase-gaman shite naga-sode wo kite ita (At first I gritted my teeth and wore long sleeves), but Yasegaman ni mo gendo ga am (There's a limit to how much you can endure), and during the day the temperature in the college rooms rose above 30 degrees, so in the end I finally went and bought some summer dresses.
It is the first year I have known a summer like this. Several years ago when I came to Cambridge it was so cold I could not believe it. Heaters were in use at the railway station and in the college rooms. For a while, Kooto mo kinaide samui no wo yasegaman shita mono da (I braved the cold by going out without a coat), but in the end Yase-gaman suru no wa yamete, kawa no jaketto wo katta. (I pocketed my pride and bought a leather jacket.) It was the complete reverse of this year.
When it is cold, however, at least you can get yourself warm by putting on a coat, whereas when it is hot you cannot get cool no matter how lightly you dress.