Hiii...! my name is Rusliyanto or you can call me Rusli, I’m from Indonesia. As for now I work as Trade Negotiator at Ministry of Trade of Indonesia. In this article, I would like to talk about the differences between my country, Indonesia and Taiwan. Ok, let’s begin!
My personal experience：from an Indonesian point of view
My personal experience in Taiwan is when I arrived there at the end of September 2021, it is my first time to come to Taiwan, although my first experience in Taiwan was under quarantine and it was not a really an enjoyable experience. But looking at the bright side after my quarantine for three weeks, I’m finally free and can go out to explore Taiwan.
Overall situation
I’m actually not quite surprised of the cultural and the surroundings in Taiwan, because I was imagining it closely similar with Singapore which I went before, which when I see the road, traffic, public park, roads, pavements, transportations, and so on in Taiwan, it is very well maintained and regulated, most people seem to obey the rules and can drive their vehicles carefully.
Which is very different in Indonesia, the traffic and the transportation system are not very well regulated and maintained, which caused heavy traffic, accidents, reckless driving, and no pavement for pedestrians to walk. I think this are a great example for Indonesian’s government to follow how traffic system should be implemented which can be a great beneficial for societies.
Cultural
To understand more about the cultural perspectives especially the people in both Indonesia and Taiwan, I think that both Indonesian and Taiwanese people most of them are friendly, kind, and civilized.
What differentiates between these two countries is I think the language and how people communicate with each other, where Indonesian people seems to speak with more polite, courteous, and deliberate way of speaking, which is different from Taiwanese, although they also speak in courteous manner, but they speak straight to the point and less hassle which is much more efficient when explaining something.
Religion
Regarding the religion, Indonesia is the largest Muslim-majority nation. With 88% of its population being Muslim, Indonesia is the largest country in the world where people practice Islam. Additionally, Indonesian’s practice and are strongly represented in the religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Christianity.
Different with Indonesia, in Taiwan, Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism are the three main religions. But many of Taiwan's temples show a blending of these three traditions. This was partly brought on by the Japanese occupation, which encouraged many Taoists to perform covert rituals in Buddhist temples.
Food experiences
Last but not least, about the food. From the food experience personally for myself I prefer Indonesian food compared to Taiwan, because Indonesia is famous for its herbs, spices, and flavourful foods, like curry, padang rice, gudeg, and others, which they have vibrant taste and colourful dishes.
Whereas in Taiwan I find that most of the food taste bland, little too oily, no spices, and not spicy enough for my taste. But there are some of Taiwanese food I love to eat, like beef noodle, xiao long bao, dumplings and Chinese pancake. I hope gradually in time I can adjust my taste for Taiwanese food.
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