1. Why did you decide to come to Taiwan?

The reason that I came to Taiwan is my dream to study abroad to reach the higher degree. Before I come to Taiwan, I got a lot of information from Indonesian Student Association in Taiwan about and there are several programs that suitable for my study plan. According to some information on the internet, Taiwan is one of the most favorite countries for study abroad and also one of the safest countries. As a developed country Taiwan has a great education system. After I did some research about study programs in Taiwan, I applied scholarship to some universities in in Taipei and Yilan country. And fortunately I was accepted in 2 universities, Taipei Tech and another university in Yilan. I decided to get degree in Taipei Tech because its located is in the capital city of Taiwan, and I believe that there are many chances for me to get a lot of experiences.

2. How did you find out about Taipei Tech?

There is Indonesian Student Association in Taiwan, and a friend of mine was one of the members. He recommended me to apply the scholarship for master degree in Taipei Tech.  At that time, he studying in another university and he has a friend in Taipei Tech who gave some information about scholarship to Indonesian Student Association.

3. Why did you decide to study in Taipei Tech’s TVE program?

I decided to study master program at Technological and Vocational Education in Taipei Tech for my interest in vocational Education field. Before I come to Taiwan I was a teacher at Vocational high school in my country. My biggest dream is to become a lecturer in University, and to become a lecturer, I need to get master degree in Vocational education field.

4. What surprised you most about the culture here? How is it different from your home country’s?

I am an Asian, so it’s easy to say that I can accept the culture easily. I can say that Asian culture is just similar in each Asian county, we are so respectful to older people, we are friendly. Taiwanese people are really friendly and respectful to foreigners. They are willing to help foreigners even though there is limited communication due the different language, moreover they are open minded. But in some cases, the culture in Taiwan totally different with the culture in Indonesia and to be honest, I get a real culture shock about life style. In my country we have to follow our religion law for everything such as food, fashion style and relationship style. But as I know, In Taiwan we can do anything if still in line with national law and I think that’s great. Sometimes, I don’t like if religion law putted into the society especially when people trying to put their own religion’s law as the best one and other people should bow down under that law. Therefore, I can accept the culture in Taiwan easily than in my country.

5. So, how do you find suitable food in Taiwan?

From the beginning, I can enjoy most of Taiwanese foods, except any food made of or mixed with bloods and rotten, fermented meat and slaughtered meat, Foods in Taiwan are so delicious especially fried chicken, stinky tofu, noodles and bumble tea. But sometimes I really want to enjoy Indonesian foods, and it make me homesick although in Taiwan is quite easy to find Indonesian foods and drinks especially in Taipei there are many Indonesian restaurants, but the taste is not original.

6. How is your Chinese?

My Chinese is really bad; I took a Chinese class in the second years but I didn’t finish it due limited time. Hopefully, I will get a chance to learn Chinese in full time for Chinese is one of the most powerful languages in the world especially in business. I got some close local friends and I asked them to teach me mandarin, but we are very busy on our own so we just speak simply in Chinese when we have a short leisure time.

7. What’s your favorite vacation spot in Taiwan?

So far, my favorite place in Taiwan is Sun Moon Lake. I went to some hot spots in Taiwan such as Sun Moon Lake, Yangming mountain, 101, and other places. I prefer nature spot such as mountain, beach river and lake than hilarity places such as super market or night market. I really want to go to the classic place or village in Taiwan, but it’s quite hard because of limited time.

8. What courses have you found the most interesting or useful? Why?

I am interested in education especially in technological and vocational education. I took some e-learning classes and engineering courses. The most interesting class was e-learning courses, because in my country it’s a something new and I hope I will get a huge opportunity in my future career in my country.

9. How has your education at Taipei Tech helped you?

Every single day in Taipei Tech means a lot to me, not only about the courses or classes. I got plenty experiences during in Taipei tech, I learned from the lecturers’ and students’ attitude, from the environments. One of the most unforgettable experiences is about communication among students, lecturers and staff in Taipei Tech, one day I will bring it to my country especially when I have a chance to become a lecturer.