It’s so hot in Texas, I pay to voluntarily put myself in a fridge: specifically, the cold room at King Spa and Waterpark in Dallas’s version of Koreatown.

For a $40 fee, you can spend the whole day into the night at this Korean-style bathhouse and sauna, or jjimjilbang. Attendees can float from various dry sauna rooms, among them an infrared light room, a salt room and a super-heated sudatorium, to hot tubs and plunge pools. You can pay extra to get massages, facials and other beauty treatments. You can also order Korean beef and rice, and drinks from the bar and restaurant.

I’ve been spending an inordinate amount of time in the spa’s cold room, which is basically a freezer. I alternate between the cold rooms and the warm baths. When I’m done, I feel refreshed and sleep much better.

But temperature relief isn’t the only renewal the spa offers. Though guests are given pajamas to wear for the pool rooms, you have to strip naked. I’ve actually made some new friends in the baths. There’s something about stripping down that makes it easier to connect. And it’s even better than bonding with sweaty strangers as we leave an air-conditioned safe space for triple-digit heat.

A South Korean bathhouse experience is a chance to escape to another country. Not everyone has this opportunity: The heat is killing Texans and sending them to the hospital. I’m aware that my access to and ability to pay for cooler spaces are privileges. But these spas are a testament to Texas’s rising diversity and the new strategies it gives us to beat the heat. — Karen Attiah

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