Moulay Yacoub thermal springs

When I am in a new situation, I have a tendency to get very insecure and very nervous. So when I'm in a new situation that is supposed to be relaxing, I'm lucky if I can become 50% relaxed. I would say that's the state I was able to achieve yesterday when T and I went to the Moulay Yacoub thermal springs and spa with a group of other faculty and staff from the University.

The spa is located in a low spot amongst brown, dusty hills 20 kilometers outside of Fez. Outside the building were palm trees and citrus trees covered with cheerful looking oranges. Inside were glass display cases with fluffy towels and expensive, organic body and hair care products. There are all kinds of services one can get at this spa--massage, facial, pedicure and manicure…or one can just pay 100 dirhams to sit in the hot, sulfurous pool.

Sounds great, right? Overall, it was. While I didn't appreciate the smell that was imparted to my hair and clothes, the warm water was relaxing and seemed therapeutic. I also splurged and paid for a massage, which was nice. The stress just came from being in a different country, where the protocol for everything is just a little bit different, and I can only communicate with the staff using one-word phrases and childish gestures.

Besides providing me with an opportunity for relaxation, the spa got me thinking about gender differences and attitudes towards the body in Morocco. The place was not nearly as gender segregated as one might expect it to be. All customers go to a coed dressing room location. The staff at the desk give you a big robe (with a hood, which is useful for the ladies who like to keep their heads covered) and some slippers. You go into a little dressing cubicle, change into your swimsuit, cover up with the rope, and then check in all of your belongings at the desk. There are individual dressing rooms, but there are no separate ones for men and women. There are two pools – one for women only, which has glazed glass doors so that no one can see into it, and a coed pool. I actually like that. I used the coed pool so that I could talk to T, but I think it would be fun to go with a group of (female) friends and use the "women only" pool. For those getting massages and other services, there are not separate sections for men and women. Showers are also individual but in coed locations.

I was also reminded that Americans can be total prudes. For my massage, the massage therapist brought me into a little room, closed the door (but not all the way), and indicated that I should take off my top. I think she was confused about why I waited for her to leave the room (and completely close the door) before I did so, especially since there was no blanket for me to cover up with during the massage.While a Moroccan woman might be expected to keep more of her body covered up around men than an American woman might be, a woman keeping herself covered up around other women probably doesn't make much sense to Moroccan. and there are some places, like a hot springs pool, where it's okay for everybody to be just about naked. (I saw several Moroccan women in bikinis and men in Speedos.)

Also: if you get a massage at Moulay Yacoub thermal springs and spa, expect by the end to be completely covered–from the ends of your hair to the tips of your toes–with olive oil. Thus the showers.

In other news: This past week we had glorious, warm, sunny, springlike weather. The clouds returned just today.