The winter wonderland of my content
The Chinese can sometimes be a weird bunch. In summer, the men love pulling their T-shirts up to expose their mighty bellies and in winter, they enjoy stripping down to their swim trunks and jumping into frozen lakes. Women take the icy plunge too.
Water temps drop to about 3 C and considering the body's normal temperature is about 37 C, this icy plunge is one almighty shock to the system. If you stayed in for 20 minutes you'd probably die, however a 3-minute experience is supposed to be euphoric.
That's why these swimmers do it. After a moment of major discomfort, they feel very invigorated.
The icy water contracts the skin, and like a sponge, squeezes out all the toxins. Blood rushes to the heart and is drained from all the limbs. The heart pumps like a racing car engine. The swimmer climbs out of the water and towels off, but doesn't feel cold.
They don't feel anything their feet or the cold air on their skin because the nerve endings are numb. Then the magic happens. Blood starts circulating around the body and the central nervous system shouts: hallelujah! These winter swimmers attain a natural high.
There's a joke that fits this scenario like a woollen glove. Why does a fool hit his hand with a hammer? Because it feels so good when he stops.
We don't need to jump into an icy lake to appreciate how cold it gets in China.
The Chinese winter wind can certainly pound a fair-weathered foreigner like a sledge-hammer.
The good news is the pains of winter are nearly over.
The Spring Festival is here and adds warmth not only to the hearts of a family-focused nation, it also signals the beginning of warmer weather. Hello sunshine!
However for some strange reason I'm going to miss winter. I took to it like a Peking duck to water.
I enjoyed it like those Beijing polar bears who enjoyed jumping into frozen lakes because the best thing about freezing is the joy of thawing out.
A typical winter night for me went like this. I scurry from the warm cab and get savagely attacked by the night wind. Banging my feet on the ground, I dash to my apartment. My ears are numb and haven't stung so much since I heard my first Peking Opera.
The walk home turns to a trot and soon I'm leaping in giant strides, to give Liu Xiang a run for his yuan.
My freezing hands fumble for the keys and soon I'd be inside my centrally heated apartment thawing-out. My bliss begins. I can feel my body temperature rising and enjoy blood flowing back to my hands, my legs, and best of all my ears. Ear we go, ear we go, ear we go.
I've been exposed to a few -5 C nights, and never imagined adapting to it. But handled it, I have.
They say fools rush in where angels fear to tread, and my mother in Sydney thought I was a crazy fool to live in China during winter. Mom is basking in 32 C heat and recently asked me: "Why in the heck do you enjoy freezin' your noggin off?"
Because Mom, it feels so good when it stops.
hotpot@chinadaily.com.cn
(China Daily 02/13/2007 page20)
