Super Sauna

[taken from my travel log, dated March 3, 2010]

Today we had our first ever sauna. In Finland, sauna is a very typical, weekly activity that helps heal the body and clear the mind. So, to get the full experience, we naturally agreed to do it! Almost every family has a sauna in their house, and we were all invited to go to an older couple's sauna and enjoy company, food (again, no complaints) and the sauna. While Mike, the host and another guy Maitus had their sauna (which, if you don't know, consists of taken off all your clothes, sitting in a hot wooden hut and sweating, then dipping into cold water and rushing back to the sauna again), the girls (Chelsea, the hostess, Lynda and our friend Laura)ate and talked of the future, our past and our present.

When it was our turn, Lynda, Chelsea and I were the first to take off our clothes and bravely venture into the hot sauna. Now, to say it was merely "hot" wouldn't have given it justice. it was 212 degrees Fahrenheit....basically if the temperature didn't get to you, the steam that came off of the hot coals we used would. The hostess would pour a large copper ladle of water onto the coals and a burst of steam would emerge, eventually burning your eyes, but supposedly, helping your body and mind. My favorite part was dipping into the water. They had a creek running under the sauna hut and it was being fed by the snow that kept falling into the creek. So, extremely cold water greeted those who submerged their bodies into it for 15 seconds, which felt like an hour. However, if you could ever image an image of three naked girls running outside, dipping into an ice cold creek and squealing out of surprise and then rushing back into the sauna, you should....because it would have been a humorous site to see. =]

I felt accomplished though. Like I had experienced something truly unique and well, something I'll never have the chance to do again. And these are the moments when I feel like everything I'm doing is worth it. Because having these kinds of memories will be the most valuable things I ever own.