My Reflections on Taiwan:

Cultural Insights:

Academic Connections:

Personal Growth:

Script:

• During our time in Taiwan, I was able to observe how closely intertwined business practices and religious traditions are, as well as how these factors influence cultural values and practices in everyday life. To start, we have all been able to observe how Taiwanese business culture is grounded in hardwork, respect, and community. Every single business we walked into had a strong community of workers, whether a large number or small number of them. I observed immense respect from the CEO’s to all of the workers and remember learning about how demanding the work-life is in Taiwan. These values align with those of the major religions present in the area. One example is that Confucius’ principles value hierarchy, compassion, harmony, and social responsibility, all of which are present in the business world in Taiwan whether it is a direct reflection of those practicing religion or just the fact that the religious values themselves are integrated into the culture. 
• Another significant thing that stood out to me was how religion and business are not separable, instead they are tightly connected. Many businesses, local shops and eating places have altars to local deities, one example being the printing press owned by prof Chen’s brother in law in which offerings were made in the hopes that the gods would bring upon good fortune to the business. Another connection is the temples we visited that had gift shops, donation boxes, penny-press machines, and sold paper money/incense/offerings. This revealed how economics is embedded in religion. The gold-colored, detailed, and elaborately adorned temples clearly seemed to be supported by the community and their donations, and in-turn these communities benefited from spiritual blessings offered by the temple. This shows that Taiwanese culture has not only embraced this connection between religion and business, but continues to utilize it to further spread religion, attracting new individuals to the temples (tourists like us) that help these religions gain exposure.
• This experience challenged my Western assumptions about the separation of religion and commerce, as well as opened my eyes to notice the connections. For example, I had never really thought about the fact that my fathers temple at home runs a business in the form of a food truck on their grounds and sells gifts/offerings in the office. This always seemed very normal to me, however I now have this different cultural insight into the interconnectedness of business and religion.

As for the academic connection,

• I feel like I came into the trip not knowing much about societal dynamics or history in Taiwan; mostly just information that the professors told us or I had researched on my own. I am now coming out of this trip with a whole new understanding of Taiwanese culture, religion, business, and even medicine (my future career aspiration). Taiwan’s diverse religious landscape encompassing Buddhism, Daoism, folk religions, Confucianism, and many other religions has broadened my perspective on how religions can coexist. This is something I found particularly interesting, as my classes at Bucknell in the religious studies department so far have kept most of these separate – aside from showing how they stem from similar backgrounds – the practice of these types of religions have been pretty differentiated. Being here and seeing how individuals worship simply to pray to a god and follow morals that they believe in – no matter what religion has been such a cool experience for me to see. Our visits to temples and local businesses that have religious shrines and talismans has been like a real-life classroom for showing how religion influences not just business like we have been talking about, but also daily life, culture, and social interactions. 
• As for my future career aspirations in medicine, we indirectly learned a bit about culture and medicine that has broadened my perspective on the relationship between culture, community, and medicine. We had the opportunity to see the integration of medicine and religious culture, particularly when we went to Longshan temple we walked through a herb lane directly next to the temple. This area is famous for numerous herbal medicine shops and shows how healthcare is woven into the Taiwanese community, with both modern and traditional medicinal habits. This really showed me how there is a holistic approach to medicine and strengthened my professional goal of becoming a physician who not only treats illness but also understands and respects the cultural contexts that shape a patient’s health beliefs and behaviors.

And then finally, my personal growth 

• I feel like this trip has forced me to step outside of my comfort zone, not just with trying new foods and activities, but by challenging my perspectives in life. I feel as though I have grown in self-confidence, evolved my mindset, and was able to reinforce to myself the importance of kindness. First off, I have become more confident in my ability to travel alone and navigate unfamiliar areas. Throughout the trip I became more confident in speaking to locals, whether ordering food or buying something. Lastly, I have also become more comfortable with the temples and eventually worked up the confidence to use the moon blocks to read my fortune. 
• Next, this trip allowed me to see the true value of travel over buying tangible objects, as well as reflect on what is most important to me in life. I feel as though I have been shown a new perspective on the value of life, or as the monk we met in Beitou asked us “What is life”. this is something that really resonated with me because, at first, I answered the question with “I don’t know” because life is such a complex thing and it is something that doesn’t have a universal meaning or agreed upon answer. The monk then continued on to talk about how life is about good energy flowing through you in the form of contentment (accepting the good and the bad), compassion and kindness for people and the world around you, and that is something that I was able to meditate on for the rest of this trip. 
• This leads into my last point on personal growth of kindness. We met so many people on this trip that showed kindness to us – whether helping us order breakfast at a shop, the professors treating us to meals/tea and gifting me my favorite souvenirs, or all of the other students being welcoming and accepting has really shown me how kindness can make a difference. You really do never know what someone is going through on the inside and so acting with kindness, as difficult as it can be sometimes, is really a valuable lesson and skill. One that I plan to continue working on and carry with me long after this trip is over. 
• So with that being said, this trip has broadened my perspective within the cultural, academic, and life realms. And I just want to end my presentation by saying how grateful I am for this opportunity 🙂 Thanks