In the mornings the kids splash in the waves while the mothers and grandmothers run their errands and sweep the sand that we bring home every day. By 1 pm the sun is unbearable; lunch is on the table when we get home. At 1:30 we're already digesting. It is essential that lunch be consumed quickly so that we can be in the water again by 4:30.
Don't follow the logic? I don't really get it either.
In Portugal it is universally held that you can only go swimming three hours after a meal -- unless of course it's fish, in which case you get a half-hour knocked off on account of the 'lighter' meal.
I've been mystified by this rule for years. In Abu Dhabi our swimming teacher taught us to wait half an hour before diving in. Now, I know that we Portuguese eat well, but are our digestive systems really that much more meticulous (or just slower?) than everyone else's?
The agony of the three-hour wait is a trial of childhood. You're six, seven, thirteen. You've beat your brother at cards, built a sand castle and played raquet ball. Sweat is pouring down your back and your face is flushed from the heat. You're running out of ideas, the cool waves are rolling up towards you -- and you're stuck under the umbrella, prisoner to the pork chop you ate two hours ago.
This gem of popular wisdom is of uncertain origins -- which I suppose is normally the way with wives' tales. The difference is that people honestly believe this very hokey rule to be based in scientific fact. People will tell you they read it 'somewhere', heard some 'expert' say it on TV, or simply that it is something that 'everyone' knows. And goodness knows that 'everyone' from 'somewhere' is always right!
I don't know anyone who was or is allowed to swim the normal half-hour or hour after eating. As I am writing this my little cousin Beatriz is bouncing around impatiently, stopping to check someone's watch every few minutes.
This isn't popular wisdom, it's popular misperception. I know that. I'm intelligent. Well-informed. After all, my parents spent thousands of dollars for McGill to make me a critical thinker.
And yet I find myself waiting for the hands to tick to six at the bottom of my watch. Some habits are beyond the power of logic to change....
2 comments:
That is absurd! I'm of the 30-minute school myself. What other motivation could there be to insist on a 3 hour break? Maybe mothers wanted their children to hang around and help with dishes or something...
haha.. I've researched this topic extensively, especially since I'm now a parent. As you guessed, delaying swimming after meals is irrelevant! You can swim away while you're still chewing if you like... nothing bad will happen.
The only shred of truth in this old wives' tale is that if you've had a positively gargantuan repast, it behooves you to wait until you are more comfortable before swimming. Of course, the same advice applies to climbing a flight of stairs. :-)
P.S. Yes, I'm catching up on your blog. Better late than never!
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