Life on the back of a motorbike

Last night I road home on the back of Sumi’s motorbike with 150 chicken eggs perched precariously on my left thigh. I understood the responsibility that came with this backseat position but I never anticipated anything like that. When I first came to Jambi I was hesitant to accept the motorbike as my daily mode of transportation, particularly after hearing numerous stories about accidents and deaths that have met those riding motorbikes on Indonesia’s lawless roads. Luckily Sumi is a safe driver and I have become increasingly comfortable, even enjoying the view of the city I get on my daily tours. However, as my comfort level and actual ability to drive the bike myself have increased, my role has changed. For one, Sumi now "lets" me drive us to and from work everyday so as to preserve her forearms from the sunlight and its darkening qualities. Also, my ability to ride easily without needing to use my hands for balance has allowed my hands to be used for other things such holding a 15 gallon water jug in each hand, carrying boxes of dry goods for our shop, or stacks of chicken eggs... And on an unrelated note about the ubiquitous chickens of Jambi: I accidentally stepped on someone’s bag of chickens at the market this morning. I mean, someone had a plastic bag of three live, or at least half alive, chickens and while we were both looking through a pile of tomatoes, I stepped on one of them until it let out a squak. Sometimes I just can’t believe that such ridiculous situations occur in this country where I have to apologize for stepping on a bag of chickens.