Whether westerners and expats in Indonesia are viewed as miserable and unfriendly people.
American teacher of English in Yogyakarta, Michelle Ahmad, tells that her Indonesian friends regard as her as being atypical for a foreigner in Indonesia – whereas most expats look grumpy and unfriendly much of the time, Michelle smiles a lot, her friends say.
On reflection however Michelle believes she isn’t much different from other expats, especially when on the street:
when I am alone and walking around town, I look at the ground, avoid eye contact, and rarely smile. I ignore hellos in English altogether or respond in Indonesian, seeing even simple greetings as subtle harassment because I am foreign, I am a bule.
Michelle avoids eye contact and speaking to strangers partly because she doesn’t want to invite amorous male attention, particularly when out alone at night.
However lately she has resolved to be less fretful about safety and more open to people, she says. michelleahmad.blogspot.com
Another blogger and foreign resident in Indonesia, this time male, Brandon, says he was accosted at the gym recently by an Indonesian woman who complained:
Why don’t you ever talk to anyone at the gym? You always wear headphones, so no one can talk to you. And when you workout you don’t smile.
Brandon says he is not very sociable at the gym because
But to an Indonesian:
…we may come across as being unfriendly or perhaps even a bit stuck-up
He recommends that Indonesians just ignore the apparent unfriendliness of bules, and just approach them if they feel like it. javajive.com
It was love wasn’t it, along with the naive idealism of the armchair revolutionary petty bourgeoisie?
It was love wasn’t it, along with the naive idealism of the armchair revolutionary petty bourgeoisie?
you talking to me PN?
wasn’t love….. that much is for sure…. not much idealism there either… more curiosity….. and if anyone is an armchair revolutionary or a petty bourgeoisie, it’d be you popkins…
Curiosity killed the cat
Satisfaction, brought it back?
I was being facetious by the way. Rob’s a good armchair revolutionary.
I’m just an unapologetic elitist bastard.
actually….. most Indonesian girls I know ignore most hello’s and randoms that come their way… it’s not really anything to do with being a bule… they’ll have a go bless em. They’d actually get a shock if the girls did respond I’d say.
I agree about the state of the environment
it is shocking to the point of dismay
the people, the attention, the bureaucracy
none of that got me down
but the filth did. Nowhere clean, no where uncontaminated
not a breathful of clean air or a glass of clean water
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you know looking back, I’m just embarrassed….. LOL!