An example from closer to home might help here. Even if we do know the language, we may still misinterpret actions, make unwarranted assumptions, or misuse the language that we do know. How can I possibly understand what’s going on if I don’t know the language? It was useful to know that opor ayam is coconut chicken, but that didn’t help me navigate the twenty steaming dishes before me. When we face an unknown culture, we are confronted with two separate but related difficulties-in reality, two sides of the same coin. Now that was some breakfast! The Interplay of Language and Context in Culture

I’ll get my mother to make you some of hers when we reach Semarang,” Joko added, happily choosing for me which dish I was to try next. Highly amused by the growing disbelief on my face as the dishes kept coming, Joko explained that we were only to eat-and pay for-what we wanted. Did they really expect me to eat all this and still speak at the 9:30 a.m. But more to the point, I didn’t have a clue what I was supposed to do next.

To this day I have no idea what they all were. “That one’s nasi goreng, fried rice,” said Pak Loki, “then kapal selam, opor ayam, bakso, gado-gado, rawon. I soon found myself sitting at a table with two friends and some twenty or so dishes spread out in front of us. Never one to miss out on a culinary adventure, “Local,” I replied with a smile. “Indonesian food or international? There’s a McDonalds not too far from the airport.”

“How about some breakfast?” Joko asked, once we had finished the customary greetings and reached their car. I was just off a night flight from Amsterdam and would be speaking in the morning service at their church a few hours later. Pak Loki and Joko smiled as I emerged into the arrivals hall at Jakarta airport in Indonesia. Editor’s note: This is a CBE 2022 Writing Contest Top 5 Winner!

The gospel according to loki