Sauna Scrub Down

Words that had no meaning washed over my ears. I just handed her the money, 20.000 won, and nodded a lot. While I lay on a gurney covered with decorative linoleum staring at the ceiling, I wondered what I had gotten myself into. For fear of making awkward eye contact, I settled upon studying her body. Her skin was smooth and practically hairless. The un-matching black lacey brassiere and full-cut red panties with roses didn't quick fit the bill. At the same time, I kind of liked it.

A warm towel was thrown over my body. Ahhhh. Next, a bucket of hot water. My body jolted upward from the unexpected weight that poured down. "Relax Sam," I told myself silently. The towel was lifted and another towel caressed my face. Wondering if another bucket of hot water was to be spilled over my face, I closed my eyes tightly. Nothing happened...

Instead, the woman massaged my jaw and cheeks. It was a game of towel on and towel off. She would massage, then put the towel back on. Massage and put the towel on again. I felt no touch for a few minutes when I decided to turn my head to the left to see what was going onI saw a cucumber and a slicer. An odd combination in a steam room. The cucumber got progressively smaller and was then applied to my face. Ohhh it was cold. If you added a bit of salt I bet it would have been really tasty too. I wanted to open my mouth to see if I could get any leftovers, but decided against it at the last minute.

She wanted to make small talk, but all I could say was mi guk saram ieyo, "I'm American." My lady in red walked away again. When she came back she looked as if she were going to pull a cake out of an oven. She had yellow mitts on both hands. Apparently, I was not a baked good, but rather, a burnt pan that needed to be scrubbed clean.

It was firm scrub down. It wasn't to the point where I felt chaffed like when you wear jeans with no underwear and walk around a lot. It was pleasant by all accounts. In the exact moment, I didn't really know what to think. She left no area untouched. It wasn't until she got to my arms that I saw all the tiny brown dirt balls on my skin. How gross, yet how fascinating?! Out of nowhere, SPLASH. More hot water gliding over my body. This time I was happy to know that it was washing away all my newly made little brown friends. It's funny how attached you can get to inanimate things.

The last frontal scrub was upon me and so was my bakery ladies' rolls; her stomach was soft so I didn't mind, but feeling another woman's tummy rolls on your forehead is a crazy feeling. First my face was cold from the cucumber being smashed into it, then her rolls warmed it up.

More foreign words were uttered from her mouth. When I could finally see I decided to study her face. I figured if she wasn't weirded out by putting her stomach on my face, I shouldn't be shy about looking at hers- her face, not her stomach. Pretty wrinkles had found their resting place around her eyes. Her hair was permed and short. Her cheekbones were high. She was wearing earrings. My guess was that she thought they complimented her under-outer garments, which they did. She was around 60.

She was strong and ended the scrub with a light massage for lack of a better word. It was more like dousing me in oil and then hitting random parts of my body. I must say, I felt great and it was 20,000 won well spent. For the next time I am going to learn some key phrases so we can have a better conversation in the nude. ^_^