If you’re sitting at a round table, having lunch or dinner with foreign partners, and suddenly the conversation shifts to culture, what would you say about your culture? About Indonesia for example? This happened to me once, I was unexpectedly given the floor to talk about my culture. But instead of thinking about Indonesia’s rich cultures and traditions, my mind went blank for a moment, my mind was wired for topics like digitalization in construction, the development of our new capital city, the projects my company is involved in, and the construction industry in general. I wasn’t prepared to talk about my culture, but I had to say something. So, I briefly mentioned about our diverse cuisine, then how Indonesia had so many island which I don’t really remember the number, and jumped to talk about our precious komodo dragon. I knew I was only scratching the surface.

At that moment, I realized that my understanding of Indonesia and even my own culture was quite shallow. Maybe it’s already ingrained in me, but I couldn’t articulate it well. Since then, I’ve wanted to deepen my knowledge of Indonesian culture so that next time, I can introduce my country to a foreign partner better.

So, next time what should I say when introducing Indonesia culture to my foreign business partners or connection?

First, I’d talk about our cuisine. Indonesia has incredibly diverse dishes, such as rendang, bakso, sate, soto, and gado-gado. We also have a strong street food culture, including my favorites like martabak and gorengan. Spices absolutely play a key role in our food, shaping the bold flavors we are familiar with. We also have our dining tradition, meals are often served family-style, where dishes are shared, and in some regions, eating with our hands is also common.

Beyond cuisine, Indonesia is one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world, with over 17,000 islands and more than 300 ethnic groups. In terms of traditional arts, we have batik and wayang puppetry, both recognized by UNESCO as part of Indonesia’s intangible cultural heritage.

As a coffee lover, I would also talk about Indonesia’s rich coffee culture. Indonesia produces a variety of coffee, from Robusta to Arabica, with each region offering its own unique flavors. Some well-known varieties include Sidikalang from Sumatra, Ijen from Java, Kintamani from Bali, Toraja from Sulawesi, and Bajawa from Nusa Tenggara. A traditional way to enjoy coffee here is kopi tubruk, a simple yet strong Indonesian brewed coffee. Ah maybe next time I’m gonna write about how we enjoy our kopi here in Indo.

At the end, Indonesia is also home to the largest tropical rainforest in Southeast Asia, a habitat for unique wildlife such as orangutans and Komodo dragons. Indonesia offers countless breathtaking destinations, but some must-visit places based on my experience include Surakarta, Yogyakarta, Bali, and Komodo Island.

Well that round table experience made me realize how important it is to be able to represent my own culture confidently. Moreover, my late grandfather was an Indonesian literature lecturer, and he had extensive knowledge of Indonesian literature and Javanese culture. I should have had more discussions with my grandpa back then.