In Reply to: Why I love my boyfriend posted by Girlfriend on Sunday, 31. December 2000 at 08:48 Bali Time:
"6) He is extremely polite to everyone and cares about their feelings, whether it is a seller in a market or a tourist - that is a part of their culture. He wouldn't dream of raising his voice to anyone."
I also used to think this was a positive quality in Indonesian people but lately I'm not so sure. Just because they don't show their emotions doesn't mean they don't feel them and I'm a great believer that feelings should be let out not suppressed.
It's ok to cry, shout, laugh out loud in front of others, it's ok to say no and disappoint people sometimes, I think a lot of Indonesians I know would be a lot happier if they were more honest with themselves and others about their own feelings and tried to worry less about possibly offending someone else or losing face.
It drives me mad when my husband refuses to argue with me and says maybe when he means no, grrrrrr!