For some a squat is an exercise when you do workouts, but for us who lives in the countryside, it's just a normal thing that we do in our lives. I can see some people in the city who do this also, but not as often in the countryside as there are benches all around the place.
"Is there anything more Southeast Asian than squatting?," said @justinparke. I can't argue or disagree with this. It's totally true! I laughed as I remember how we do this in such situations and as I read what this challenge is all about. This topic piqued my interests and made want to share were do we do the squats in my place.
 |
|---|
Common place where we do squats is in the farm or in the backyard as we plant rice, vegetables, fruits, and flowers. You lower your hips and bend your knees to plant the seedlings. This goes on for hours or the whole day until the work is done.
I remember that Filipino folk song "Magtanim Ay Di Biro" (Planting Is Not A Joke) that we often sang when we were kids which describes how farmers plant in a squat. It has the lyrics,
Magtanim ay di biro, (planting is not a joke)
Maghapong nakayuko, (crouched down all day)
Di naman makaupo, (can't sit)
Di naman makatayo, (can't stand)
See this video to listen to the full song.
Planting while doing squats all day is surely tiresome. I have tried that when helping in the fields and in our backyard since we were kids. We do it once in every 3 or 4 months when planting rice, once a year when planting sugarcanes, and regularly when we plant vegetables in the backyard or flowers in the garden. Then, we would be expecting to have aching arms, hips, and knees after the work.
I also saw people doing squats in our place when eating. At home, my father and my brothers often do that. I can't understand why they do that but they prefer to hold their plates and eat using their hands, then squat while eating in the yard facing our fields. Not just when eating but also when drinking a cup of coffee in the morning or in the afternoon. I admit that I'm guilty of doing this also (just when drinking coffee). We would squat while holding our mugs, then sip our coffee from time to time while watching the sun rise on the mountainous side, or sets on the sea side at the distance. Our home is located in between of the mountain (east) and sea (west), so this scene is common everyday.
Another thing also during every harvest, I can often witness this. Every time the workers would take a break to eat their meals, they would squat everywhere holding their plates to eat since there are no tables and chairs in the fields. They are lucky if the farm owner have a hut for them to eat and rest, but if not, they don't have a choice but to squat.
 |
|---|
Another place to do a squat is in the sidewalk when waiting for a transport vehicle to commute. Lucky are those terminals in the city for they have chairs for waiting passengers but for those in the countryside, not all of the terminals and waiting sheds have chairs. The waiting time for transport vehicles to pass by sometimes takes almost half an hour or hours since vehicles are lesser.
Also, some vehicles have a schedule or waiting time before they leave the terminal and some don't leave while the vehicle isn't almost occupied yet. If you are waiting by the road or at the sheds and not in the terminal, you are going to wait a little bit longer where there are no chairs or benches to be found nearby. If you get tired standing when you wait, you're only option is to do a squat by the roads.
If you are a southeast asian or have traveled in the southeast in asia, you can share us your experiences to "Where do you squat?" like how I shared mine.
When I read that, only one thing comes to mind, the toilet lol!
I do agree much here. magtanim ay di biro e, especially in paddy rice fields where muds are aggressive down your knees, and the sun shines so hard, lol. A very long hour of squat position buy endure it for the sunshine more and the plant won't and might not take the sun's heat.
Kudos to Farmers, but now rice planters are being introduced into machinery; some are no more squatting.
Maybe those big time farmers, but for us, we still plant it manually rain or shine.
I squat to stretch because I sit all day. My 50 year old back kennat anymore 😆. Routine ko na mag stretch every day, hehe!
!PIZZA
Awww, hahaha. Nag squat din ako pang exercise pag trip ko lang manakit hita ko. 😆
PIZZA Holders sent $PIZZA tips in this post's comments:
@jijisaurart(1/5) tipped @ayane-chan (x1)
Learn more at https://hive.pizza.
The rewards earned on this comment will go directly to the people sharing the post on Twitter as long as they are registered with @poshtoken. Sign up at https://hiveposh.com.
I only do squats when I'm exercising but I did witness my relatives do the things you've mentioned. It's funny how the memories came to mind as I read your blog. Now it got me thinking why my grandma prefers squatting than to sit on a chair while talking to our neighbors in the province 😅
Hahaha. Often saw that early in the morning. Maybe, it's an exercise for them. 😆
Congratulations @ayane-chan! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain and have been rewarded with new badge(s):
Your next target is to reach 900 upvotes.
You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPTo support your work, I also upvoted your post!
I've definitely found myself squatting while waiting for a bus or van many times. That folk song is so appropriate for rice planting. That's the hardest squat of all because you can't drop all the way to the ground because of the water, literally backbreaking work. I used to pick watermelons in the USA, and it is probably the worst agricultural job in my area because they are heavy and low and must be loaded onto a high truck bed.
Thanks for joining the challenge, shame I didn't get to see your squat 😁.
Oh, sorry for not sharing my pictures. 😆
No problem at all, just would've been a nice addition to an already awesome post.
⋆ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ ғᴏʀ sᴏᴜᴛʜᴇᴀsᴛ ᴀsɪᴀɴ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴇɴᴛ ᴏɴ ʜɪᴠᴇ
⋆ sᴜʙsᴄʀɪʙᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀsᴇᴀɴ ʜɪᴠᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴛʏ
⋆ ғᴏʟʟᴏᴡ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀsᴇᴀɴ ʜɪᴠᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴛʏ ᴠᴏᴛɪɴɢ ᴛʀᴀɪʟ
⋆ ᴅᴇʟᴇɢᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ʟɪɴᴋs 25 ʜᴘ⇾50 ʜᴘ⇾100 ʜᴘ⇾500 ʜᴘ⇾1,000 ʜᴘ
Your content has been voted as a part of Encouragement program. Keep up the good work!
Use Ecency daily to boost your growth on platform!
Support Ecency
Vote for new Proposal
Delegate HP and earn more
How I wish I could experience planting in the fields dear friend ayane. But here in our place it is more of pineapple plantations, corns, and other crops.
Thanks for sharing this interesting content ❤️❤️❤️ Have a nice time my friend.
I don't squat, ate because it hurts my legs if I do that.