How Cold Is It?

People from home ask me how cold it is. It's cold. But not as cold as family and friends in Oregon and Washington are experiencing this winter. This past month AccuWeather.com was predicting temperatures ranging from -2C to 10C, or 28F to 50F, most days. I haven't known what the actual temperatures are on any given day, but as I walk around town I see....

It's not too cold to exercise mornings in this corner of Ankang's largest square. And it's not too cold to dance every evening in the same square. The dancing seems to be a favorite activity for several hundred people. The dancers can step with the line dancing and the couple dancing which take place in a lit area nearer the arena. My two left feet have not wanted to join the dancing or the exercise. They still enjoy walking the best. So I join the hundreds in this town who walk.

It's not too cold for businesses to continue their open door policy. Or for a son to complete his homework on a cold glass counter just inside one of those businesses with the open door policy.

It's not too cold to bake bread. All this baker did was add several layers of clothing and some earmuffs and she was ready to proceed. I've decided she and her husband make the best muffin style bread. And they are on my street which is so convenient.

It's not too cold to take the baby, all bundled up, out for a stroll. There are more babies out in the afternoons than in the mornings but you still see them all times of the day....well, sometimes it's difficult to actually see them in their mutiple layers.

It's not too cold to have your fortune told. I've just recently seen a variety of men set up shop along the sidewalk on this street. They sit on stools with a small bit of paraphernalia spread at their feet waiting for someone to stop for a consult. When a patron does sit, the talk becomes very earnest.

At school it's never too cold for these second graders, their bodies clad in multiple layers of clothing and emanating the only heat in the room, to sing "Ten Little Fingers," the wiggling of their fingers adding to their warmth.

Back at home I am getting used to living with cold. I now hardly ever dread sitting on the cold toilet seat. Five layers on top, two or three on the bottom and three pairs of socks are natural, and adding a coat, gloves, scarf and hat when I go out second nature. I now get warm water from the shower when I don't want to wash my hands in cold water one more time. And hot chocolate has become my new favorite drink.

So, yes, somewhere between -2C to 10C is cold , but it isn't too cold.