I don’t know why people keep trying to find ways around.

If you seriously want to live, invest and be part of Indonesia (or any other country), you just can’t avoid it.

I am not saying that speaking Bahasa Indonesia magically opens all the doors for you to walk in.

I am saying that NOT speaking it closes most of the doors you need to open.

I can’t ever emphasize enough on how it changed everything for me to be able to emotionally connect with people, in Bahasa.

I still can’t speak perfectly.
But it doesn’t matter.

People just genuinely appreciate, and open up when they feel like you understand them, in their native language.

If I wouldn’t speak the language, I would NEVER be able to build anything here.

I mean it.

And you don’t need to take classes or look for a “secret method”.

Most of Indonesians are open and happy to talk with foreigners. Just start talking with anybody, and learn by doing.

I’m serious… I started to learn the language on Tinder, Google Translate… and by going to random villages to talk to elder people, in Bali.

Of course, in Bali’s most touristic areas, more people speak English, and some foreigners do OK even without speaking Bahasa.

But, think about it this way.

You are French, communicating in English, with a Balinese partner, who learned Balinese AND Bahasa before learning English… as a third language.

What’s the level of miscommunication you can expect during such a business meeting?

And this comes on top of the cultural, education and work ethic gap.

Don’t skip this investment.

Communication is everything, and Bahasa is a fun and easy language to learn.

If you’re serious about living and investing in Indonesia, just start to learn the language today.

Any level is better than no level at all.