Thursday, January 15, 2009

Shivery weather

It is true that in Romania, last Christmas, I experienced temperatures bordering the -20°C. It's difficult to explain what it feels like to go out and one of the sudden experience a drop in the temperature of at least 40°C. Imagine that someone is trying to pinch some needles on your forehead, and this is more or less what you feel.

Even though it seems like the end of the world to be at -20°C, is not. The body gets used to it quite fast. For me it was a matter of 4 or 5 days to get to the point where I felt comfortable in such conditions. There are other factors as well: the floor in a open sky location gets a layer of ice that sometimes may be deadly slippery, the cars become slays and if it snows you cannot watch up unless you wear a suitable cap.

Getting used to this cold is relative, as I was wearing underpants all the time. Only once I didn't and I regretted. It's like the needling sensation on throughout your legs! Never try to go without a cap or scarf, after a while you'll be regretting. But the body gets comfortable at some point, and you don't look scared.

Right after this cold training, the polar cold wave entered Western Europe. This meant some snow at the beginning which is fun somehow(1), but later the skies clear and the real fun starts. In Eindhoven, we got 4 days with temperatures hitting the -18°C mark. I thought I was used to it, after the Romania experience, and so bravely I decided to ride my bike and go to the university. What a suffering! The freaking cold enters every single minuscule pore of your clothing, feeling like hundreds of needles pushing in you!

I went back and forth to the u, and I'll never repeat the experience that cost me a contracted back. The following map illustrates how the temperature figures were one of the shivery days.


Source: Buienradar.nl Eindhoven is at the south with -14°C.

(1) Except if you have to drive a car with 15cm of fresh snow and drive 500m in 30'. We experience that :(

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

and here in Zürich now,the temperature is -14 brrrr...you are Jose Antonio Villegas? you remember me? l'm Daniel Nolasco,your old class mate in Salta.l send you greattings. dany2833@hotmail.com