Getting naked in the land of milk and honey.

On Monday, I went to the Olympus Women's Spa with Anjali, Karol and Marlo. It is a Korean-style spa. I first went with Anjali in June 2006 as my graduation present for getting my bachelor's degree.

On my first visit, I was intimidated because in the wet room of the spa, with the hot tubs, showers and two different saunas, women are completely nude. Early on after entering the room, I had a moment where I had to chose: either spend the rest of the day self-conscious about my body or give it up and enjoy myself. I gave it up as an issue and had a fantastic time.

By the time I left with Anjali on that first visit, I was a convert. One of the coolest things about the whole experience is really getting that most women don't look anything like the magazines, and that no matter our size, we all have flaws and jiggles - and we're beautiful nonetheless.

This trip, I treated Marlo as a reward for her hard work with taking two AP classes, being on the cheer squad and working hard every weekend at her job. We both got the body scrub / body moisturizing package. To begin with, you soak in the hot tubs between 30-60 minutes before your appointment. Then, a nice Korean woman scrubs you down top to bottom and all parts in between with these intense scrubbers (think sandpaper) - three times. By the time they are done, your skin is so smooth.

Then, we had lunch with Karol and Anjali and spent time in the heated salt, sand and mud rooms, reading magazines and napping. Then, the most wonderful part of the day arrived: the body moisturizing.

First, the nice Korean woman rubs your body all over with warmed olive oil and removes the excess with hot towels. Then, they rub hot milk all over your body, followed by the hot towels. Then, they rub warmed honey all over your body. While the honey is resting, they do a facial with practically frozen shredded cucumbers. It is seriously the most amazing experience.

By the time we left, my skin was silky smooth and I smelled sweet like milk and honey. Ahhhh.

http://www.olympusspa.net/Tacoma/index.aspx

http://www.thenewstribune.com/soundlife/story/180207.html