Only when 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. Traveling to Indonesia for the first time, I experienced culture shock which is “a sensation a person may experience when moving from one cultural environment to another” (p15). The difference between cultures often leads to culture shock and, therefore, creates intercultural conflicts and misunderstandings. FAMILY CULTURE Each culture has specific cultural patterns that inevitably conflict with each other, which unfortunately led to a clash between me and my Indonesian relative. Because Indonesia has a culture characterized by high power distance (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 expected to obey elders without challenge or questioning. (p106) On the second day of my visit, my uncle accompanied me to Ragunan Zoo in Jakarta. Suddenly, my uncle lit a cigarette and smoked in the private air-conditioned car! I felt like I was going to die as a passive smoker as I suffered from reactive airway disease. “Don't you Indonesians find smoking disgusting and unhealthy?” I said. Then through the rearview mirror I saw that my uncle was frowning and then the compartment remained silent. Soon, during a conversation with my mom, I discovered that Indonesians were very tolerant of people smoking indoors. When I reflect on my behavior, no matter how disgusting I found smoking, I should not have objected to my teeth when I got along with people from a high power distance culture. To act out of respect (p68), I would have preferred to speak in a milder tone like "Uncle, could you... middle of paper... in Cantonese, which was a language the natives probably didn't know" I don't understand. FINAL THOUGHTS Now it is clear to me that very often it is the small cultural differences that create the biggest culture shock. I really enjoyed my experience in Jakarta because I felt very settled and happy there with the care of my relatives, even though there had been several fights between us. Showing respect is the important magic that helps keep conflicts to a minimum. Also, to relieve the stress of culture shock, it's important to keep a very open mind so that I can always adapt to new things. Embrace experiences and realize that it is the differences that make this world unique and interesting. When encountering a new culture, trust yourself that you have the drive and energy to learn about a new culture will inevitably make your experience valuable and unforgettable.