Photos: A Guest at the Naked Party

sarahlynnpablo — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 08:57:00 GMT

Me, my companions and our travels

My Scholarship entry - A local encounter that changed my life

sarahlynnpablo — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 08:54:00 GMT

A Seoul guidebook reported that Spa Lei catered to lady clients, spoke English and operated 24/7. On arrival, we discovered one major inaccuracy. Unflinching, we called a free translator hotline. Taking turns on the phone with the staff, we negotiated a night at the spa.

Our excitement grew as we walked down a dim corridor and approached a room casting away shadows. A flock of Korean women bathed in the vanities’ full lights. They were as God made them. Oh, it's THAT KIND OF PARTY.

I sized up my companions, unsure if we were ready to see each other like Adam saw Eve.

Even women who feel comfortable in their own skin will be uneasy hanging naked in a crowded room for longer than it takes to change a sports bra.

I glimpsed all nature of boobs, bums and down-there hair care. I wondered how everyone saw me. Then I realized: We were the same in our differences.

Slowly, my legs didn’t cross as tight. My arms fell to my sides, not in front of my lady parts. As I released my self-consciousness, I began to enjoy my Korean spa escapade. Free from my prison of anxiety and self-judgment, I basked in Jacuzzis and pools of salt- and freshwater. Saunas loosened my tired muscles and unblocked my pores.

We chilled on the rooftop deck and in the nap room. We ogled more indulgences: manicures, pedicures, Thai and hot stone massages. After a few hours, we arrived at the scrub room.

While the rest of the spa interior was muted, my pupils dilated here, a space ideal for inspecting every crevice and curve. Our beauticians, about my mom's age, donned black bra and panty "uniforms" and wielded plastic-covered massage beds, loofah mittens, hoses and vats brimming with water.

Suppressing images of Mom in her skivvies, I felt like a baby again, oddly peaceful, this woman bathing me. But she spared me no mercy. Preparing a lamb, she lathered and scoured me, my skin near-raw, globs of dead membrane falling away. I grew accustomed to the pain for promises of a velvety complexion.

Party Naked: Seeing Our Sameness in Our Differences, A Travel Story

Photos: A Guest at the Naked Party

My Scholarship entry - A local encounter that changed my life