The Sauna

The Sauna:  The Ultimate Korean Experience. 

So I do my best in trying to assimilate into this new culture.  But sometimes I won't try certain foods.  But what I will do is go to a sauna.  The sauna is a pretty regular part of a Korean male's life.  Most go after a long day of work.  Last Wednesday I joined 5 other guys from work on a trip to the Yes Sauna.  Korean business names make no sense.  Most of the time they just put an English word on it and call it good to go.  So the sauna entails numerous pools of water at various temperatures ranging from "cause shrinkage" to extremely hot.  There are also steam rooms at various temperatures.  So you go into the sauna, check out a locker, go to your locker, get naked and then walk into a large room with a lot of naked Korean men.  When there is a group of white people in a sauna you tend to be the main attraction and receive many looks.  At a sauna there is no room for modesty or shame.  You have to embrace being naked, and getting stared at while naked in order to enjoy the experience, which is a quite good one.  It's very relaxing moving about the different pools...sweating out the toxins, conversing with the others, and embracing a part of the Korean lifestyle.  After relaxing in the pools, it's off to the showers where salt scrubs are available.  I left the sauna feeling relaxed and ready to go to sleep.  I slept like a rock that night!!  This Wednesday we're going to a different sauna.  Supposedly there are little subtleties that make each sauna a unique experience.  We'll see what this next one has to offer...