Slinks
From another FQTV (also a ppl)
Aircraft can take a lot of turb - much, much more than you experienced, as unpleasant an experience as it was for you.
One thing we learn when we learn to fly is that human physiology was not designed to fly, so the signals given back to the brain, e.g. in turb, are confusing and uncomfortable.
I'll let the professionals answer for themselves, but I found I developed a tolerance as my hours increased and when my workload was higher didn't even notice most turb.
Of course, sitting in the back, out of touch with what is happening, with nothing much to do it usually feels a lot worse than it is and I don't like turb encounters, such as the one you describe, as a pax.