When in Rome

This has by far been the most... interesting... experience here and one of the most interesting of my life...

There are a lot of things about Europe, Finland specifically, that are quite different than in the US that it never really occurred to me to think about... 

like the plugs

and the beds

and even the light switches

but the thing that really has surprised me so far is the Finnish tradition of a Sauna... this is not a sauna in the American terms, where you go in after swimming or working out and leisurely relax in comfortably hot temperatures... Sauna here is equal parts tradition, cleaner, and sport! 

I have literally never in my entire life been so hot.  like really and truly never... ever

you go in, and it is Finnish tradition that this practice be carried out naked.  People here are modest and polite, but the sauna is just normal.  I used my American card and opted out of this element to the practice, at least at first... but ill get to that!

so you go in the sauna and its hot, but more like hot tub hot, normal sauna hot, pleasantly hot especially in the 60 degree weather.  then you throw water on the rocks, and for a moment you feel nothing... but then

it hits you

like running face first into a wall

made of dynamite

and not just one time, more and more and more water until you really have a hard time breathing and your makeup runs down your face making you look like a clown... and this is just the beginning!

(at this point it became unbearably hot, and the top part of the bathing suit came off... to act as a hairband.  the hair on my neck was AWFUL! just a warning... never enter a Finnish Sauna without a hairband) 

*there are yearly international competitions to see who can stay in a sauna longest with the temperature well over 150 degrees at the coolest, and hotter the longer you stay in.  Last year, of the remaining two, a Finnish man (the winner) left with severe burns and months in recovery and the second place man (russian) died... death is apparently extremely uncommon (people aren't usually that stupid) but also a forfeit!

Then it is custom (at least during certain times of the year, this one included) to hit yourself all over with these thin leaf covered branches to bring the blood to the surface of the skin.  Cleansing, it's supposed to be. 

get out, cool off, jump in the river if you please, then people frequently go back in... to shower.  There is a big bucket of cool water and all the soaps and shampoos that one could want.  Hot water comes from a pump connected to the furnace, but hot water was the LAST thing I wanted.  

and at that point you are so sweaty the cold water is awesome, and all you want to do is wash your hair.  So you do.  

then you dry, dress, and drink a lot of water.  

apparently people will assert their toughness by how long they can stay in and how hot they can handle... the Finnish fancy themselves VERY tough! actually though, you feel pretty good once you have cooled off a little bit! and surprisingly clean!

this whole thing makes me wonder, what about our culture would foreigners find odd?? 

This is the story for the evening... More later!