Josephine Claretta Budiman

My name is Josephine Claretta Budiman and I’m currently taking my double degree master program in Food Technology in Soegijapranata Catholic University and Providence University. My short term goal would be to finish my master degree with flying colors, while later in life I hope to pursue a career in academics. Indonesia is my home country and words cannot tell how proud I am to be Indonesian because of its rich natural and cultural background. I’m a global citizen passionate about technology, people, stories and food. My interest is on developing healthy and affordable food products that people love using the latest technology. Always eager to learn new things and do my own little research on current food issues that may surface on social media from time to time. And so hopefully, I’ll always have interesting things to talk about over a cup of coffee.

Realizing A Dream of Studying Abroad

It has been a dream of mine, since I was just a little girl, to study abroad in other country. Back then, I haven’t exactly decided on which country should I choose to study or what kinds of subject should I pursue. Growing through the years, my love for studying has only continued to flourish, even until now. In my university, back in Indonesia, there is a double degree program for master’s students to have one year experience in Taiwan. To be honest, I was scared to join this program. I can’t speak Mandarin and if I decided to go, it would be my first time living so far away from my parents. But curiosity got the best of me, and I decided to conduct my own little research of Taiwan.

I explored the internet about the universities here, the environment, the culture and the most important thing for me, the food. From what I’ve studied (through internet), I’ve come to learn and love Taiwan. It’s such a beautiful country to live in, with rich cultural background too. The environment here is safe and healthy, especially during crisis times like this due to COVID-19. I admired Taiwan because the government handled COVID-19 spectacularly so that there is little chance for new victims. So, even though I was terrified of what may come in the future, I decided to come and study in Taiwan. I love this place and I think to myself, what’s the worst that could happen? I am sure and I believe that only the best things will come to me in Taiwan.

Food Technology & School Experience

I am currently studying in Food and Nutrition Department, Division of Food Science and Biotechnology. To put it simply, our department researched on things related to food and the technology surrounding it. From these researches, we can improve our food and our health in order to have better future. The subjects I am studying this semester are only few, because master degree program doesn’t have that much credits and subjects, compared to bachelor degree program. Advanced health and nutrition, meat science and technology, seminar, molecular biotechnology, and also independent study are the subjects for this semester. The topics of said subjects are exactly like what the titles suggest. For independent study, I am doing my research for my thesis which is about this little Brazilian berry called Jaboticaba and its health benefits to inflammatory on zebrafish.

Since my department’s subjects are about science, most people would think that it is difficult and not enjoyable. The difficult part is true, at least for me. But it doesn’t mean that it is not enjoyable. I feel challenged by the subjects here and since Taiwan is different from Indonesia, the issue and trend on my studies also changed. For example, I’ve come to learn about the meat science of pork here. In Indonesia, I can’t study it as much because it is considered as haram. It is refreshing and a good learning opportunity for me.

To be honest, I faced little to no difficulty in applying to study here since my university, Soegijapranata Catholic University, has a work pact with Providence University. If I had to say, the greatest challenge for me in applying to study here would be the language. I did study little bit of Mandarin when I was young, but I am ashamed to say that I can’t quite memorize the language. It was hard to discuss things about my thesis with my advisor because this language barrier often makes us have misunderstandings. I can’t hardly say that I have overcome this challenge because my Mandarin at the moment is sloppy at best, but attending Mandarin class and speaking with my friends help a lot. It makes me more fluent and I hope to be better at speaking and undestanding Mandarin.

Comparison

Indonesia is my home country and of course, it has special place in my heart. Though I have to admit, studying in Taiwan has been a wonderful experience so far. The teaching quality is more or less the same, but I love how caring my professors in Taiwan are. They taught me not only lessons about the curriculum, but also about the culture here. From my lecturers, I know how warm Taiwanese people can be.

The school environment here quite differs from Indonesia. The first thing to note is I love how clean and organized the environment is. About the school equipment and facilities, I feel that this place is way more advanced than in Indonesia. The thing that fascinates me the most is the laboratory here. It has way more equipments and they are also way more advanced, it really helps me to do my research better. From what I’ve wrote, you may think that I’m sugar-coating my words to make Taiwan look great, but please rest assured that what I’ve written is the truth about the condition here and in Indonesia.

Challenges & Achievements

My stay in Taiwan just started last month, so there really is not much to tell about my achievements in my study here. Instead, I will tell you about my current thesis research progress. So, my thesis is about Jaboticaba fruit and its anti inflammatory effects on zebrafish. My first few weeks had me do some early preparation of my samples. My lecturer gave me 350 kilograms of jaboticaba fruits for my sample. It was a lot and I had to wash all of those fruits. It was exhausting but I felt content in doing that because it means I am one step closer to my dreams. Then comes the quite difficult part, the peeling part. It takes me and my partner around 5 hours to get only 1 kilogram of peel. My friends said that is a lot for beginners. Still, I can’t help but be disappointed that I only got that much during such long hours. I am currently trying to freeze dry my samples but the machine just somehow doesn’t work right. I hope it will get fixed soon and I would be able to continue my research.

Other than my research, I think speaking and holding a conversation with other Taiwanese people is something I would consider to be an achievement. I can only do simple conversation but it is an improvement for me since I literally can’t string words together. I hope I would continue to get better on my Mandarin language skills.

Benefits of Studying in Taiwan & Future Plan

Like I mentioned before, I experienced better school life in Taiwan than in Indonesia due to the advanced technology and many other reasons. I can do my reseach better here because there is a lot of equipment I can use, that would benefit my research. Besides that, the professors here have been and I believe, will always be full of support for me. Since Providence University has a lot of international students, I can share and do troubleshooting together with other friends from other countries. It surely expands and broaden my knowledge horizon. With this supportive environment, I am sure I can be the best version of myself.

My long term goal in life is to pursue a career in academics, either as researcher or lecturer. In Indonesia, it would be possible to achieve this career with master degree. But I believe, in Taiwan, one must be a PhD graduate student to be able to pursue this career. At the moment, I plan to go back to Indonesia and develop food technology in Indonesia. God knows Indonesia needs more people to develop the country. But if the opportunity ever arise, I would love to go to Taiwan again and pursue a career here. Of course, I would have to study more Mandarin to make my life and others easier in here. I think life in Taiwan is nice and this place is a good place for me to flourish. I also want for my family to experience life in here and know what a nice place Taiwan is.

Advice for Prospective Students

Since my weakness is language, I strongly advised for other foreign students to learn at least basic Mandarin. It would help a lot with surviving in Taiwan, because you can communicate better with other people here. Even if you have difficulties on learning the language, I already experienced myself how helpful the people here so there is actually no need to worry. Other than that, I think everyone should have open mind and great preserverance since going to a new country can test your mental strength. I experienced a bit of cultural shock in here since a lot of things are different from Indonesia. But if you have open mind and great preserverance, you can handle things here just fine. Things won’t be easy, but I can assure you that it would be worth it in the end.