Indonesia Hurts My Back

Hmm. I haven't written a blog post in a while, not that I haven't been doing anything, but because I haven't thought of anything interesting to say. I still can't think of much to say, but I shall talk about a cultural difference of Indonesia that has been causing my back some problems: sitting. The Sundanese love to sit, and when I say they like to sit, I mean they like to sit on the floor. Americans, however, like to stand. If they have to wait for something, they stand. If they are chatting, they stand. As some of you may already know, I have back problems, and while standing may hurt my back, sitting is worse. Unfortunately, sitting is inescapable. Indonesians often have meeting in places that don't have chairs. I sit on the floor at gym class, for assemblies, special school events, while studying, while I am waiting for someone and every occasion in between. What seems the most peculiar is that I sometimes see people sitting on the floor when there is an open couch or bench next to them. Isn't it more comfortable to sit here? I often think, until I am invited off the bench and on the floor with them...then I know for sure it was more comfortable on the bench. It seems to be more polite to sit on the floor when others are as well. So as soon as someone sits on the floor, I usually end up sitting on the floor as well. Its a bit frustrating for me and my back. In addition to sitting on the floor, there are other aspects of Indonesian sitting that are a tad frustrating. Because Java is so crowded, traffic jams are common. Because Bandung is sprawled out like LA, it has horrible, and sometimes nonexistent sidewalks. You must take a vehicle to get anywhere. This means you are likely to sit in Angkot and car seats for hours on end waiting in a traffic jam. I've been taking motor cycles lately, which are much nicer since they zip through traffic much quicker, and I end up spending a lot less time on them, but motor cycles are just as uncomfortable, if not more than cars or buses. Class is probably what causes me the most pain: we sit on very uncomfortable wooden seats for classes that last about 1.5-2 hours long. The only plus is that massages here cost about $2 for 30 minutes...I anticipate a lot of massages in my future haha.