Of keeping one’s countenance and the yes-yes thing

As Bali’s population is over 90% Hindu, there is this one phenomenon of keeping one’s and others countenance (das Gesicht wahren). This means, before some locals tell you, that they don’t have a clue where something is, they will prefer to tell you something completely wrong. But, not every Balinese is using “face-savers” but a lot of them. You will also experience the same phenomenon if you ask them yes-or-no questions. Example: Is this the right direction to Udayana Universitas?...Yes-yes this direction.! But actually it’s not.

When my friends and I were looking for the Economics building at the Udayana Campus, we asked different people (policemen, workers, shop owners, locals) and everybody, really everybody, sent us to completely different directions and buildings. It’s awkward, but one get used to it and start to ask some more people at once ^^. Not every yes, means actually yes, keep that in mind!