Indonesian Culture Analysis

Not until I had the chance to visit Indonesia did I realize how different two cultures could be. My father is a typical Chinese while my mother is a Chinese Indonesian. Travelling to Indonesia for the first time, I experienced culture shock which is “a feeling that a person may feel when s/he moves from one cultural environment to another” (p15). Difference in cultures often leads to culture shock, and thus, creates intercultural conflicts and misunderstandings.
FAMILY CULTURE
Each culture has specific cultural patterns that inevitably conflict with the other, which unfortunately led to a clash between me and my Indonesian relative. As Indonesia has a high power-distance culture (106), its society is very stratified and hierarchical. (p106) Hofstede stated that in a high power-distance culture, every decision is made at the top and children are bound to obey eldership without challenging or questioning. (p106) On the second day during my visit, my uncle drove me the Ragunan Zoo in Jakarta. Suddenly, my uncle lit a cigarette and smoked in the air-conditioned private car! I felt like I was going to die as a passive smoker as I used to suffer from reactive airway disease. “Don’t you Indonesians find smoking disgusting and unhealthy?” I said. Then through the rear view mirror I saw uncle has got a frowny face and the compartment remained silent then. Soon under a conversation with my mum, I found Indonesians were very tolerant with people smoking indoors. When I reflect on my behavior, no matter how much I found smoking disgusting, I should not have opposed to the teeth when I got along with people from a high power-distance culture. To act out of respect (p68) , I should rather have spoken in a milder tone like “Uncle, could you...

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...in Cantonese which was a language that native people probably didn’t understand.
FINAL THOUGHTS
It’s now clear to me that it was very often the minor differences in culture are the ones creating the biggest culture shock. I really enjoyed my experience in Jakarta as I felt very settled and happy there with my relatives’ caring although there had been several clashes between us. Display of respect is the important magic that helps minimize conflicts. Also, to ease the stress of culture shock, it is important to maintain a very open mind so that I can always adapt to new things.
Embrace the experiences and realize that it is the differences that make this world unique and interesting. When encountering a new culture, have faith in yourself that you have the drive and energy to learn about a new culture will inevitably make your experience valuable and unforgettable.