Job Discussion Forums

[anakanakjoke]

I am going to begin teaching in Indonesia in the next month and I have a specific question...

I am an overweight woman and Im wondering how difficult do you think it is over there for overweight people? I can handle the heat...just wondering about space issues, etc lol For example, bathrooms, chairs in restaurants, etc.

Anyone have any insight for me? This is the only thing (mostly) that I am concerned about in my trek over there.

[aeh]

Hmmm. I guess it depends on the extremity of the situation. If you are a little on the larger side. No real issues. You might find it difficult to buy clothes anywhere other than the western malls and you might get the odd comment from kids who don't (or choose not to) realise that it's not really an appropriate thing to say.

If you really are over weight to a point where it concerns you, this may be slightly different. Obviously it is a hot country and you may struggle a bit (I was a pretty overweight when I first got there). I did find that I lost heaps of weight though due to the temperature, lifestyle, food etc. In terms of chairs, in most restaurants etc you will be ok I think, you may find it more difficult in some of the street food type places where they have flimsy plastic stools but again I guess this would differ from person to person.

I found there were plenty of opportunities to keep fit though. I joined a pool and a gym in a local hotel and the temperature meant I drank loads of water so it's not all bad!

[malu]

Many wealthier Indonesians these days are on the large side, and the only time it becomes a problem would be if you tried to use public transport that is designed for the much smaller and thinner poor Indonesians. Angkot (public minibus) are out of the question and ojek (little motorbike 'taxis') would be uncomfortable and dangerous. Otherwise, the only compact seating is to be found on low cost airlines such as Tiger, Lion, and Air Asia.

[Chris Patton]

I think I can confidently say, and those who know me would no doubt agree, that I am on the large side of the large side.

As well as being overweight (A Doctor in the west would immediately classify me as 'morbidly obese' without asking after my overall health or general well being) I am also quite tall at 6'4".

While I occasionally encounter a restaurant chair or airline seat that is a bit of a tight squeeze, I have yet to find myself completely unable to fit somewhere. I am able to ride in Angkots without much discomfort, and my main barrier to ojeks (motorbike taxis) is a healthy fear rather than size issues. I live in BSD, which is a suburban area and therefore perhaps a bit higher end than central Jakarta, but I've not really encountered any problems anywhere I've been in Indonesia.

The biggest issues for me, not just in Indonesia, but elsewhere in Asia have been finding clothes and dealing with local people's reaction to seeing me.

It is virtually impossible for me to find any clothes at all here that will fit me. I have to have everything either sent from home, or tailor made. That said, there are some excellent tailors here that produce good clothes at a fraction of what you would pay in the west.

One issue that doesn't particularly bother me, but has annoyed some people I have worked with is the way some local people react to seeing an oversized foreigner. Asians tend to be more direct in their manner than we are, especially when trying to express themselves in a second language. It is not unusual for me to here someone saying "oh, you are very fat." or even "oh, why are you so fat?" This is not rudeness, it is merely a direct expression of ideas that we are often not used to. I generally treat such statements with a smile and an attempt to introduce myself in their language and find that find that I am treated very well from then on.

So, as long as you are healthy and have a good mindset I would say come on over.

Size doesn't matter.

[tanyakenapa]

things that spring to mind are......

1. you can easily get clothing made if you are desperate.

2. You wont have problems if there is a western toilet, however if you have to use a squat one you might have a bit of trouble. They can be very slippery and of being a large size you might have a little trouble with balance. And think of how u will "clean yourself up" afterwards especially if you are about to lose balance.

3. I've seen warung owners at the small warungs double up on the plastic chairs for a larger sized person...without uttering a word. Doubling up the plastic chairs/stools make them more stable apparently.

4. A lot of Indonesians are now overweight compared to say 10 years ago. Young kids are now much bigger than what they used to be due to more western junk food, computer games and the like.

5. Perhaps take up a new hobby of going swimming, the weather of course is great all year for it.

6. You might have more problems (sorry guys) with women's health issues, in the gyno dept as the constant heat can affect you by what you wear etc. I'm sure u catch my drift :p Wear cool and loose fitting clothing..
lots of good gyno's around .. for any women's health needs...

7. And if you happened to have an accident, fall over etc, the locals might have difficulty in helping you up a little ...but they will certainly not leave u be.... anything more serious.. think of hopsital beds, operating tables, ambulances and the like...are not as accommodating than they are in the west.

Other than that... good luck :p