“Where are you from?” is such a common question when you travel. It is also my favorite question to ask fellow travelers just to prove my guess is right by observing their languages or physical features. But when it comes to asking where I’m from, it becomes a lot more exciting.
Most Indonesians don’t travel. Most Indonesians who travel do so in tour groups. Most Indonesians who travel in a tour group will almost always go to Asia, Australia, USA or Europe. What about an Indonesian woman traveling in Latin America? 99% of the people I met said, “Wow, you are the first Indonesian I met in my whole life!” This is said not only by the locals, but also by the fellow travelers – mostly Europeans.
Apart from that, I have just realized that Indonesia is unknown to most of Latin Americans. I’m sure most Indonesians also don’t know Chile or Guatemala, but Indonesia is a very big country with 247 million populations. That is number 4 of the most populated country in the world! When you see it in the world map, Indonesia can be identified right away. Well, that’s how I think.
I used to tweet this Q&A of “where are you from?” from my Twitter @TrinityTraveler and my followers told me to post it in my blog. I intended to write in English so I can share this story to my foreigner friends. Here are some:
Among all of Latin Americans, Brazilians are the ones who seem to adore Indonesia very much. We are their dream destination! At the very least they will say, “Indonesia? Ah, tsunami!”
In other Latin American countries, no one really knows Indonesia. But after 8 months, I finally met some locals who knew something about Indonesia – in cute ways.
Guatemalan receptionist guy: Where are you from?
Me: Indonesia
Him: Your country is beautiful! I watched Miss Guatemala competing for Miss World in Indonesia!
Guatemalan Tuk Tuk driver: Where are you from?
Me: Indonesia
Him: Oh that’s very far! More than 25 hours flight, right?
Indonesia and India is the same country in some Latin Americans’ perception because our countries share the same first 3 letters and the last 2 letters. Paraguay and Uruguay is also the same, right?
Cuban landlady: Where are you from?
Me: Indonesia
Her: Wow, I love yoga, toe rings and sari!
Me: No. That’s India.
Her: Oh it’s different?
Argentinian skateboarder guy: Where are you from?
Me: Indonesia
Him: Oh I have a friend who lives in Calcutta!
Indonesia has a negative top of mind. It’s true and I don’t mind, but it’s such an embarrassment.
Moroccan girl (my hostel mate in Colombia): Where are you from?
Me: Indonesia
Her: Oh that’s where a baby smoke, right? I watched it on YouTube!
Mexican man I met in a church: Where are you from?
Me: Indonesia
Him: Oh that’s where its government closed down the churches, right?
Indonesia is must be somewhere in Asia. Yeah, sure!
Mexican guy who sells mobile phones: Where are you from?
Me: Indonesia
Him: Wow, I love Manny Pacquiao!
Me: That’s Philippines
Him: Oh it’s different?
Chilean painter guy: Where are you from?
Me: Indonesia
Him: Wow! Can you do Kung Fu?
Some people don’t know where Indonesia is, or what Indonesia is.
Dominican man in a Muslim prayer: Where are you from?
Yasmin (my friend): Indonesia
Him: Oh, I really want to go to Middle East!
Jamaican beach boy: Where are you from?
Me: Indonesia
Him: In… What?
Me: In-do-ne-si-aaa
Him: Inodesi? What is that? Never heard before!
Now… should I laugh out loud? Or should I cry?
For those who don’t know where Indonesia is exactly located, please look at the map I posted above. Yes, we are Asian, but it doesn’t mean we speak Chinese or can do Kung Fu.
— Thanks to @aharadiran for editing this 🙂
113 Comments
nur afida
February 27, 2014 7:35 pmkeren banget tulisan2 mba trinity ini, en khusus ditulisan ini, seru banget baca2 komen2 nya
kayaknya di buat buku sendiri dngn judul “where are you coming from” bagus deh buat lucu2an
tri martono
February 28, 2014 6:50 amStop writing in English! Jadi gak lucu lagi.. Biasanya gw ngakak karena “misuh-misuh”nya atau term-term anehnya Mbak Triniti. Kalo pake English jadi gak greget.. Gw ngebayangin kalo tulisan yang ini pake Bhs Indo, pasti lucu banget dech..
bebekwangi
February 28, 2014 4:23 pmahahahaaa…kocak abis..pernah juga ngalamin yang mirip2,,tapi ini lebih kelewatan sih.. salah satu sebab muka etnis tionghoa asli..
ini kejadian di bali :
hotel Receptionist : *membungkuk dan kasih salam ke saya*,lalu bilang : Konnichiwa..o genki desu ka?bla…blaa..
Gue : *Diem/bengong/nganga trus senyum* Saya orang Indonesia koq pak.
Hotel Receptionist : ngomong dari tadi donk mbak..saya pikirnya mbak orang jepang.
guuubbbrraakkk… ini di bali lho..bali…masa sama2 org Indonesia gk bisa bedain warga sndiri..ckckckkc..
ernedy
March 2, 2014 11:46 amDi Manila di sebuah toko semacam Gramedia kalau disini:
Petugas (P) : $#&*$T*$%(&@E *ngomong Tagalog*
Saya (S) :Excuse me. I don’t speak Tagalog.
P : Oh, I’m so sorry, Sir. You’re not Filipino?
S : No, I’m not.
P : So, where are you from, Sir? Malaysia?
S : No.
P : Brunei?
S : No.
P : Singapore?
S : No.
P : Where are you from, then?
S : Indonesia.
P : Oh, really??? We looks the same!!! *dengan mata berbinar dan pandangan takjub*
S : Yeaa.. *senyam senyum doank *
indah_ps
March 2, 2014 6:06 pmJadi inget kejadian waktu di Santorini Island, Greece
Percakapan gw dengan ibu2 penjaga toko souvenir:
Greece (G): where r u from?
Saya (S): Indonesia…(Ngejawab sambil males2an,paling jg dia ga tau dimana Indonesia)
G: *menatap gw dengan penuh arti dan bilang: why u come here?
S: ofcourse for a holiday…*sedikit bingung kok nanya gitu
G: I’ve been there a couple years ago, and u know, Indonesia is the most beautiful country in the world, its have wonderful beach, its more more than Santorini, so, why u come here??? Bla..bla…bla *semua keindahan, keramahan, kekayaan Indonesia dia ceritain dgn penuh serius
S: *speechless dan terharu…ternyata ada org asing yg begitu kagum dengan indonesia…dalem banget
travellous
March 4, 2014 10:29 amNice posting, ngakak! xD
Anyway komentar di atas saya “indah_ps”, bikin merinding :’)
Love the way u write Mbak T, selalu ditunggu tulisannya 🙂
tem
March 4, 2014 11:57 amHAHAHHAHA ngakak baca artikel yg ini kak. saya punya pengalaman waktu kuliah di Aussie dan kerja part time di noodle bar punya orang taiwan yg sudah menjadi warga disana. waktu rehat siang sebentar, si pemilik noodle bar bilang dgn wajah prihatin: ‘ayo kamu makan dulu,tapi maaf masakan kami mengandung babi semuanya, kami tau kamu orang indonesia tidak makan babi’ (I was like: WHATTT??? ahahahhah I love porkk so much,and i’m a xtian, only moslems yang ga makan pork) hahaha funny experience! 😀
TUKANG MAKAN ANGIN
March 4, 2014 10:09 pmMy experience when I joined a whole day tour to Ha Long Bay:
T(Tour Guide)
M (me)
T: Where’re u from?
M: Indonesia
T: Oh, I ever visited Jakarta. This city just like Hanoi, it has so many motors and the traffic is totally chaotic…bla bla bla (continued with all negatives)
Man, majorly the world only knows about Indo in defect way..
“Leave nothing but footprints. Take nothing but pictures. Kill nothing but time”
http://makanangin-travel.blogspot.com/
aab
March 5, 2014 4:21 pmSumpah, saya langsung merinding baca komentar indah_ps…
Jadi mikir lagi rencana mau ke eropa…
widie
March 6, 2014 10:36 amPengalaman tahun 1989 (masih SD) ketika bersekolah di amerika… (indianapolis)
F: A friend from philippines…
M : Me
F: where you come from?
M: Indonesia…
F: huh??? where???
M: *mengambil globe di kelas untuk nunjukin.. and gak ada dong gambar wilayah Indonesianya, blank aja cuma laut…!!!
didi
March 6, 2014 10:55 amBerbeda dengan di jepang, tepatnya di gunung fuji..
S (shopkeeper org jepang): ()*@&#(*&$(*%&(*# <<< bhs jepang yg tidak bisa dicerna
G (gue): say, mau beli ga nih maenan gunung fuji, tapi kayanya mahal ya
C (cewe gue): yang jual tampangnya serem kaya mau rampok kita, jangan2 mahal nih hahahaha
S : halo, orang indonesia ya.. saya tidak menipu, ini murah hanya 500yen.. hahaha saya dulu tinggal di bogor lama lho..
Gue dan cewe gw langsung malu huahuahuahua.
Agus
March 6, 2014 1:22 pmSaya pernah juga mengalami hal ini saat traveling di Korea Selatan.
(Di kedai makan)
Me: I want this, please.. (sambil nunjuk gambar di menu)
Her: Okay, btw, are you chinese ?
Me: No
Her: Japanese ?
Me: No, I’m Indonesian.
Her: Where is it ?
Me: (bingung jelasinnya)
(di kasir minimarket)
Me: (taro mineral water di meja kasir)
Kasir: Liang Chien (maksudnya 2.000 tapi pake bahasa china)
Untung saya ngerti mandarin dikit2..
(kedai pinggir jalan)
Me: Hello, I want buy this and this.. (sambil nunjuk dagangannya)
Ahjuma: (melirik) Where are you come from ?
Me: I’m from Indonesia.
Ahjuma: (menatap tajam dari kepala sampai kaki)
Me: (nunduk pura2 liatin makanan dagangannya)
Well, sounds interestin story….
dedew
March 6, 2014 1:26 pmNah ini aku punya cerita. agak jauh dari tema diatas si.
aku tinggal di Pacitan, tempat kelahiran Pak SBY. taukan? hehe
kakekku punya ART asal Lorok,dari pusat kota pacitan jarak 2 jam, jalan naik berliku.
nah punya cerita, februari kemarin ada acara kawinan di lorok, sesuai adat jawa dimana malem setelah resepsi itu ada unjuk gelar WAYANG, yang ada dalang sama sinden.
eeh buset!, sinden nya dari amerika, dan dia nyanyi jawa nya so flawless.
dan aku miris ngeliatnya. itu aja 😀
Fauzan Abrar
March 6, 2014 3:03 pmSewaktu menuanaikan ibadah haji tahun kemaren, ada yang lucu. Ketika itu sy bersama keluarga lagi belanja kebutuhan harian di ‘supermarket Bin Dawod’. di satu lorong saya berada, di samping saya ada jemaah Malaysia yang juga sedang belanja. Tau sendirikan perwakan dan warna kulit kita sama. Yang membedakan wktu itu cuma tanda pengenal.
Tiba tiba datang seorang jamaah Pakistan, yang posisinya lebih berdekatan dengan jamaah Malaysia dan agak jauh dengan posisi sy di lorong yg sama di rak yg sama. Dengan niat berbasabasi (mungkin)dia menyapa jamaah malaysia dengan senyum ramah ‘I Love Indonesia, Indonesia is Wonderfull’. Jemaah Malaysia cuma membalas senyum dan berlalu. Saya yang mendengarkan sekilas waktu itu, cuma senyum senyum senang.
moniq
March 6, 2014 3:24 pmSomewhere in Vence, a little old town near Nice, France :
Crepes cook : Hey.. you look like Asian
Me : Yes I am
Crepes cook : Come from Indonesia?
Me : 100% correct ! How do you know ?
Crepes cook : I lived there as a restaurant chef.. and I’ll be back again.. many things I love too much there.. un crepes gratuit pour toi, s’il tu plait.
Me : Merci.. !!!! dapet crepes gratis karena nostalgia bapak koki pernah di Indo
Shella Hudaya
March 6, 2014 4:31 pmLOL! Nice article.
Anonymous
March 6, 2014 5:17 pmhehehhe….really thankful for the share!
So, why do u think most of us prefer europe than Latin American? Hmmm…;me, i think cos first, we didnt really often heard about it, even yes, what we heard just like indonesia, danger! Than, we have the same climate, so, europe always more interesting! Bule gitu loh yg di lihat! 🙂 Thats what i think! U have to be like mba yg nulis artikel, nekat dan gokil ( smart too ofcorse) or u have to live in europe for a while and than u will relized that our country is really beautiful and a lot of people dreaming to visit. Just like us dreaming to visit europe or other country! 🙂
ardhin_paris
March 6, 2014 5:18 pmoh, forget my name!
Aya
March 6, 2014 6:39 pmHaha jadi inget waktu ke Berlin musim panas tahun lalu, ada mas mas yang suka pose jd tentara didpn bradenburger tor tiba tiba nanya “hello there lady in the red shirt? Where are you from?” saya jawab “Indonesia” dia bales lagi “ahh
aris
March 6, 2014 8:29 pmkomen indah_ps kereeennnn iiihhhhhh
Anonymous
March 7, 2014 11:50 amResepsionis hotel di Jakarta
Wkt itu lg ngurus kamar utk musisi Belanda yg salah satu membernya ada keturunan Ambon dan si resebpsionis malah nyangka gue itu si musisi (padahal muka lebih banyak kaya Cina dari pada bulenya)
Lanjut ketika di venue, crew stage yg tiba2 ngajak ngomong bhs inggris yg terbata-bata buat jelasin masalah waktu tampil krn terpotong waktu magrib
Crew stage: Hi! *salaman* About your performance bla bla bla
Gue: ooh, gitu mas iya gpp naanti aku jelasin ke artisnya.
CS: walaaah orang kita juga?
G: ….. lah iya, aku LOnya
CS: *cengar-cengir*
mubarok
March 8, 2014 8:55 amkebetulan tanya nya ke orang yang cuek kali. atau tanya ke orang yang dulu nilai geografi nya jelek.. atau sekolah nya dulu nggak bagus
*hanya menepis dugaan kalo Indonesia nggak populer
Reni
March 12, 2014 12:10 pmKetemu ibu-ibu di Turki yang nanyain jalan . . .
Si Ibu: Oh, so you’re not from here?
Saya: No, I’m from Indonesia.
Si Ibu: Oh, I’m South African, but some of my ancestors were from Indonesia.
*senang*
Agam Fairuz
March 14, 2014 2:23 am@Louis Vuitton house Paris.
Penjaga tokonya naanya kesaya (dlm bahasa Prancis)
Penjaga toko: Anda dari Indonesia?
Saya: Iya kok tau?
PT: dari feature wajahnya.
Saya: Oh ya? emangnya banyak orang Indonesia yang sering kesini beli-beli ya?
PT: Iya, orang Indonesia kaya-kaya, kalau beli barang datang kesini rombongan/group dan satu orang beli bisa menghabiskan paling sedikit 30.000 euro (hampir 500juta).
Saya:Haaa??
**tu rombongan DPR apa pejabat kali ye…
nancy
March 22, 2014 8:50 pmpengalaman beberapa thn lalu di Petaling Street Malaysia
Pedagang (P) : asalnya dari mana?
Saya (S) : Indonesia..
P : Wah Indon. Klo di Indon nominal uangnya banyak ya, pdhl nilainya sedikit. Klo di Malaysia 1jt udh bs beli rumah, klo di Indon ga dpt apa2..
huh.. bikin males dianggap remeh ama negara ttngga.. lgsg tinggalin kiosnya tanpa beli apa2
Catherine Emilia
March 26, 2014 3:32 amI LOVE THIS POST! <3
vitamasli
March 30, 2014 5:29 amKalo aku pernah dapat kejadian kek gini pas ngobrol2 dgn bule Amerika dari New York. Setelah ngobrol panjang lebar bla bla bla dia nanya :
Bule : Where are you from?
Saya : Indonesia
Bule : Whoaaa your english is very good. Where did you learn english?
Saya : At school..
Bule : Whoaa.. *dengan tampang such as “Amazing! Ada pelajaran bahasa Inggris di sekolah Indonesia*
Hehehehe
Afif Amsak Jr
April 2, 2014 11:38 amshould I laugh out loud? Or should I cry?
i will show to the world, how beauty Indonesia it is.
Let’s write about the Exotic Indonesia and tell them that Indonesia is a Wonderful country in the world
Arkam Suprapto
April 2, 2014 3:08 pm*talking with my macedonian friend*
She: where do you come from?
Me: Indonesia
She: Ah I guess I know where that country is. But you don’t look like typical african people.
Me:…
dream92
April 3, 2014 8:42 pmActually I never travel to aboard before but I ever chat with foreign. If I tell that I am from Indonesia, some of them don’t know Indonesia. But when I ask Bali, most of them know about it. Why they know Bali but don’t know Indonesia. Is there something wrong in promoting Bali? May be Bali promoting as an island not including Indonesia as The country. I am still anxious.
Mrs.Tan
April 4, 2014 12:18 pmTravelling ke Melbourne, Aussie terus ketemu Org Kamboja (OKM)
OKM : where R u from?
Me : Indonesia
OKM : where is it?
Me : “@?)????? Do u Know Bali?
OKM : yeah.. I’ve been there. So beautiful.
Me: actually , Bali is part of Indonesia.
Ternyata yg dikenal Org tuh cm Bali doank. Indonesia nggak.
xuelianchi
April 5, 2014 7:25 ampengalaman waktu mau beli makan malem di warung yoshinoya di tokyo :
penjaga warung (PW): mau beli apa? (pake bhs jepang)
gue : gyudon satu
PW: where do u come from?
gue : indonesia
PW: ow, apa kabar? terimakasih!
gue : how do you know indonesian??
PW : *cuma senyum aja krn dah sibuk ngelayanin orang lg
senengnya dia tau bhs indonesia walau cuma greeting doang 😀
mia
April 5, 2014 1:04 pmiyah…mba, moga2 tambah banyak pemuda/i kita yg mau menyisihkan uangnya u/melancong yah dan mau interaksi dgn penduduk lokal/sesama pelancong supaya Indonesia bisa dikenal dan gak hanya yang negatifnya saja (ngarep).
romi
April 11, 2014 2:06 ambule yg pernah ke bali tapi ga tau indonesia itu gimana ya?emg kalo ke bali pake visa bali gitu?mana ada
desapri
April 15, 2014 9:20 amklo wisata outbound bali bagus ga ya… minta info nya gan
Tiwi
April 16, 2014 11:35 amLCCT KL
Bule Amerika BA : Where are you come from?
saya : Im from indonesia sir
BA : there are many corruptor right?
saya : d#$%d@
Knp yang dilihat korupsinya yaaaak.. @__@
wida
April 18, 2014 3:20 pmHahaha kocak2 yaa pernah jg ngalamin
Cowok itali: where you from?
Gue:Indonesia
Cowok itali: you’re muslim? i know Bali, jogja, bandung, pangandaran, Jakarta 😀
Gue: you ever visit there?
Italian man: yesss 🙂
org Italia suka lohh sama cewek indonesia katanya cantik2, kalo kata org Pakistan org indonesia itu ramah2 dan baik2.kata orang Turki Indonesia negara yg indah banyak dr mereka yg ingin sekali kesini dan katanya mata orang Indonesia itu indah. Kalo org Amerika yaa mereka sih seringnya komentar yg negativ aja
mmm mavro indonesia
April 30, 2014 2:23 amThat is very fascinating, You are an excessively skilled blogger.
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reno
May 12, 2014 10:18 amSpg di taiwan : are u from malaysia ?
Sy : no. Im indonesian
Spg : you work here
Sy : no. Im a student
Spg : wow.. student.. lalu mbaknya ngasi hadiah buku tulis ama pena.
#Umumnya orang taiwan mikir orang indonesia itu kerja disana.
andy herman
May 13, 2014 2:34 pmWhen I am in Krabi, a Portuguese tourist asking me :
Tourist : Hello !! Where are you come from ?
Me : Indonesia !
Tourist : Oh yeah ! My cousin ever go there ! To Jakarta & Bali ! You come from Jakarta or Bali ?
Me : I am from Medan !!
Tourist : Medan ??? Where ?
Me : On Sumatera !! The Lake Toba !! Know it ?
Tourist : …..
#Indonesia cuma terkenal Bali dan Jakarta aja… Medan gak laku…
Cen
May 14, 2014 6:25 amWhere do u come from?
Indonesia
Do you still live in a treehouse?
?????
Indra Kusuma
May 16, 2014 5:12 amAsem, padahal harusnya jam tidur, tapi tiba2 ketemu website ini terus jadi keterusan baca dan akhirnya jadi begadang. Belum lagi baca artikel dan komentar2 lucu di sini jadi hilang ngantuknya, haha xD
Btw, baru pernah ke KL, Ho Chin Minh, sama Kamboja(perbatasan doank). Pengen juga jalan2 ke daerah lain di Indonesia ataupun ke negara lainnya, tp kendalanya waktu dan uang x_x Harus pandai2 susun rencana nih.
Oh ya, petugas imigrasi perbatasan Kamboja juga ad yg bisa bilang Terima Kasih lo, ud banyak orang Indonesia yg lalu lalang kali xD
sofia zhanzabila
May 17, 2014 10:01 amHahaha..ngakak sambil guling-guling deh bacanya.
wenwen
May 21, 2014 11:02 pmSaya pernah di korea
Where are you from?
Indonesia?
OH..badminton, sambil acting pegang raket 😀
wenwen
May 21, 2014 11:17 pmSatpam penginapan di chiang rai, Thailand
Tiba-tiba dia mendekati saya sambil senyum-senyum dan bertanya
“From home?”
Saya bingung setelah berpikir saya balik nanya “I am from?”
“Yes”
“Oh..Indonesia”
Sambil sedikit ketawa “Ohh..yes yes because your face…” (sambil ngelus-elus pipinya) entah apa maksudnya, apa muka saya yang familiar mirip-mirip orang thailand apa karena pipi saya yang lagi jerawatan….
Martin Kedang
June 2, 2014 2:25 pmDi lembata, NTT
Lgi duduk2, eh bule lewat…
Bule : selamat sore (tau juga dia bahasa indonesia)
Me : oh, ya, selamat sore… dari mana? (Coba nanya pake bahasa indonesia)
Bule: oh, komodo!!! (Ini bule jawabnya benar atau salah ya? Dari komodo? Atau baru dari komodo? Hehehe…
)
Sasha
June 11, 2014 1:32 pm*suatu malam di Suria KLCC, selonjoran depan air mancur sambil ngobrol cantik sama temen*
Malaysian Guy: Malaysian? Indonesian?
Me: Indonesian
MG: Working here?
Me: No, we’re on vacation.
MG: You come with me, ya? I’ll pay you for a night, how much?
Me: Excuse me?! *lalu kabur*
Abis itu kita diikutin terus sampe naik taksi. Yuk mari. Are the Indonesians there known to be a prostitute or something? 🙁
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