Indonesian Toilets and Door Climbing

I have a problem with Indonesian toilets in that they're squatting toilets. Using squatting toilets is no problem for Indonesians because they can squat flat footed on the ground quite comfortably but I am not at all accustomed to this. I cannot, for the life of me, squat flat footed so using squatting toilets can present a bit of a challenge. Luckily for me, the volunteer house, where I live has regular western toilets. This is fantastic when I am near home but when I am not I find myself "holding it" until I get home. Sometimes I have to give in and use a squat toilet but it is not at all pleasant. The bathroom itself is usually always wet because people use water to cleanse themselves and not toilet paper so water is splashed all over the restroom. Every time I enter an Indonesian restroom I have to roll up my pants. While in the restroom I worry about losing my balance and falling which, thankfully, has yet to happen. This whole restroom thing takes some getting used to, it can be quite stressful and I'm afraid I will never get used to it as I simply try to avoid these toilets as much as possible. Its something to tell the someone's grandkids about I suppose.

Oh something funny to tell you about. I was teaching at the middle school last week when I needed to erase something from the chalkboard. I noticed there was no eraser and I asked the children where the eraser was and they said "di atas" which means "up top." I took this to mean that it was on top of the small hill in the school office where school items are sometimes kept. I asked one of the children to get it. Another child got up to join him and I was about to ask why two people needed to get me an eraser when the Martin, the second boy, stood holding the classroom door open, while the first boy, Roni, got ready to climb up the door to an open ceiling board above the door. Apparently when the kids said "di atas" they meant the eraser was up in the ceiling and not in the office like I had thought. I was going to stop Roni when he started climbing up the door. I let him continue, however (I needed that eraser), and just contented myself with saying "Don't die, Roni." As Roni climbed this door I thought to myself, "This would never happen in the States." Roni did not die and he came down quite calmly and gracefully. He and many children like him here are quite agile. I was not too worried about him because of this but if an American kid tried the same thing I think I would freak. Okay well that's it for today. Until next time.