On Tuesday night I teach a weekly adult yoga class at my school. The more I teach, the more I want to learn. It is an amazing experience and I am very grateful to have returning students every week. Yesterday we had it all: new softened lightning, available yoga mats, air conditioning, a great sound system and a subtle smell of incense. 30 sun salutations later, my students and I were finally relaxing in Shavasana (dead's man pose). As we were laying there with no movement, listening to our breath coming back to its natural state, our relaxation was brutally disturbed by a cell phone ring tone obviously set on maximum volume. The owner of the phone stood up, frantically searched her purse and finally... answered the call!
The person in question is Indonesian and what she did right then is not considered a lack of respect at all in this culture. From a outsider's perspective: it really seems like blackberries, Iphones, cellphones are Indonesian people's best friend. Definitely a very annoying aspect of Jakarta.
At the end of the class, while reflecting on culture differences, I approached the woman and kindly asked her to never bring her phone back to class again. That day I practiced yoga.
For two seconds, my mind swayed between cramming the phone down her throat and bursting out laughing.
ReplyDeleteHad the pitiless treatment you had inflicted on us transformed me into a sack of (boiled) mushy peas? I chose the second option. 'Twas funny, actually.
MM