The following are strictly personal views/observations and in no way reflect the views of the Peace Corp nor the federal government of the United States.

Whoever introduced the futon to Moldova must be a millionaire; because, futons caught here like wildfire. Every house I have been in thus far in Moldova has at least one futon; usually the number of futons depends on the size of the house. In an apartment there is the requisite one futon, in a small house there are at least two, in a medium house three, and a large house the number of futons can range from four to six.

Outside of hotels, I have slept on nothing but futons since arriving in Moldova. It kind of scared me upon first arrival in Moldova; because I was shown my room and I saw nothing but a couch and a wardrobe.

The thoughts of sleeping on a couch for three months and the imminent joint and back pain which would result sent a tremor through my whole body. The whole day I contemplated if I should cash in my chips and go home because I was sure that couch sleeping for three months would vanquish me. I don’t like to sleep on a couch for one night if I have a choice.
Fortunately, I staved off panic and that night I was relieved to see them whip that couch out into a bed. With a sigh of relief I realized, ah a futon. Little did I know the prevalence of the futon in Moldova.

I can’t figure out the tremendous attraction to the futon. I think futons are okay, but, I personally associate the futon with apartments chock-full of fraternity boys.
I have found that the futon provides a decent night sleep, not like the glorious slumber of a spring mattress, but it is better than a couch.