Happy go lucky Gita!

Teach, Learn, Share

I will tell you everything about Indonesia if I could.

Cultures in Indonesia:
-When addressing people for the first time or not, be polite, respectful, always use the formal terms, i.e. Bapak for a man, Ibu for a woman before their proper names. When meeting, Indonesians touch their hearts in greeting, often after the handshake (the first time met). It feels a bit awkward and pretentious to do this at first, but you get into the habit rather quickly and it is a respectful gesture when meeting officials.
-The concepts of family, harmony, and mutual security are more important than that of the individual.
-Respect for the elderly and seeing the family as the place one goes to for support, both help retain core values in this nation.
-Many Indonesians in the neighborhood do not speak English, but they'd be more than happy to interact with you with Tarzan language or just giggle away the failure to communicate with you. My neighbors always want to interact with my guests but never had the guts to say hi first. If you'd be so kind as to walk around the neighborhood to greet them and chat with them, that would make their day.

Things that might surprise you:
- Even if it was the first time that they met you, Indonesian might startle you by asking "personal questions" such as whether you were married, and if not, whether you were then engaged to be married? They will ask you about your family, where you work, what your occupation is, where you were educated and so on. Please just answer all these questions casually as you do not have to answer them in detail.

Indonesians often feel uneasy when they meet you for the first time. They do not know who you are and so they do not know "how to place you". Should I treat this person as an equal (i.e. the same age and/or social status) or should I treat her/her differently? They will usually err on the safe side by treating you as if you were "older and/or having a higher social status" and then slowly adjusting their behavior after they get to know you better. Indonesian society is a very hierarchical society, hence knowing where to place somebody is very important.

Countries I’ve Visited

Algeria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, India, Italy, Jordan, Malaysia, Netherlands, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Indonesia