One final note when it comes to intercultural competences is that people you may meet in Bali may not have strong intercultural skills. Most people have never traveled outside of their country, island, or even village and likely have had limited interactions with people from certain ethnic, racial, religious and cultural backgrounds, as well as sexual and gender identities.
Practices such as skin bleaching and colorism, valuing fairer skin tones, are common in Southeast Asia and have a deep history both from colonization and historical caste systems.
For example, it is often the case that comments will be made about people’s skin color or race (such as Asians or Black people). Racist comments, while ignorant, do not usually come from a hateful place, but can obviously still be harmful. The same may apply for cultural or religious differences. While we cannot tell you how to react, you are welcome to use those moments to help the person understand why the comment is hurtful and offensive (if you so choose). We can also help with this.
There are clearly defined gender roles, for example around modesty for women, which you may or may not find limiting depending on your background and values. While we expect and hope you can respect these cultural differences, we urge you to come to us if you would like to have a conversation about theses issues. Nonetheless, your comfort, privacy, and safety are important to us and we do not tolerate any gender-based (or other) harassment.
Additionally, you may encounter cultural misunderstandings around bodies and health. In Bali, like in some other cultural contexts, perception of bodies is very different from Western standards. For example, being bigger-bodied means you’re being fed well and are taking care of yourself, so a compliment sometimes given is “Wow you are so fat, so good”. Depending on the person and their relationship to their body, this can feel offensive and/or harmful, though it is not ill-intentioned and reflects them celebrating your health. As previously mentioned, we encourage you to stand up for yourself if you so choose, or to ask us to facilitate a conversation around body neutrality and/or body shaming, which we have done in the past.
Finally, there is a significant lack of knowledge and education, and inherent discomfort from locals around LGBTQ+ identities and issues in Bali. While society is becoming more open-minded on this topic and there are no anti-gay laws, there is still potential for discrimination. If you are a part of the LGBTQ+ community, it is up to you whether you disclose information about your sexual or gender identity. However, people are typically extremely polite and kind, so you are not very likely to be treated differently or be disrespected outwardly.
