The Light - An Alumni Publication Fall 2015 | Page 18

Reflections
JILL PENAFIEL

PROGRAM: Finland, 1986 - FUSYE
OCCUPATION: Education Coordinator
HOME: Denver, CO
Jill Penafiel is the Education Coordinator for the University of Colorado Cancer
Center. Jill went to Finland in 1986 for the YFU-Finland U.S. Senate Exchange Program.
Although she never learned more than a few Finnish words, she has enjoyed studying Norwegian and
German and now is quite fluent in Spanish, which she speaks with her husband, a native of Mexico
City. Jill has two wonderful daughters who are in their 20s and a golden retriever named Bob.

WHEN IN FINLAND...
The sauna is probably the best known daily ritual of
Finnish life. Even before they can crawl, Finns are
placed in the hot, steamy goodness of a sauna, and they
continue to enjoy its healing powers until the day they die.

Minnesota, an area of the country where people were
known for their reserved, wholesome personalities—
and modest swimsuits. Apparently the interviewers
liked my answers, because I was selected to go.

Saunas are not only a way to purify the skin and souls
of those fortunate enough to partake, they also provide
a sense of home, of healing and a sense of pride in
the Finnish lifestyle. I observed this pride of the sauna
in the older generations for whom it seemed almost
mystical. Who could withstand the heat the longest?

When I arrived in Finland, I found that every home had a
sauna, and I was expected to participate in every saunasitting event I encountered. I took saunas with my host
sister every evening while my host parents enjoyed their
sauna much later, after the late-night news broadcast.

For me, a 16-year-old American summer exchange
student from Minnesota, the Finnish sauna was
the site of my first real moment of catharsis, a
moment experienced while participating in
a YFU program in the summer of 1986.
My relationship with the sauna began even before
I knew I would be going to Finland. During the
group interview for the exchange program, we
were asked how we would feel if we were invited
to take a sauna in the traditional way … naked.
You can imagine the nervous laughter, darting looks and
general awkward squirminess of several Midwestern
16-year-olds sitting in a semi-circle. The other kids said
they wouldn’t feel comfortable baring all to others, but I
approached the possibility as a “when in Rome” situation.
Where did my response come from? I was the most
modest of anyone I knew! At the time, I was attending
a conservative Lutheran high school in western
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Saunas are cedar or Finnish fir-lined wooden rooms
heated by electric or wood stoves to a scorching 160
degrees Fahrenheit. Next to the sauna stove sits a
wooden bucket filled with water and a wooden ladle.
When the time was right, the host would carefully
pour a ladle of water onto the hot stones perched on
the top of the stove, sending up a swirl of steam that
causes the sauna guests to seemingly bow to the sauna
gods … mostly because those seated on the higher
benches would not be able to tolerate the rising heat!
Löyly is the Finnish word for the steam that rises from
the rocks. It means “spirit, breath, soul.” After several
seconds, or when the löyly was considered intolerable,
the sauna dwellers departed and jumped into cold
water. (In the winter, I was told, they rolled in the snow.)
The process was usually repeated two or three times.
Being from snowy western Minnesota, I couldn’t envision
rolling in a snowbank for any reason, but with the
scorching heat of the sauna, it seemed to make sense.