Please read this article, written by our class’ very own Elsa Zhou, and discuss what you learned, what resonated with you, and any other constructive thoughts you might have about the piece. Your response should be at least four sentences long.
14 thoughts on “Blog Post #15: Article Review”
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I learned that lack of diversity leads to neglecting foreigners which tends to form false perceptions. As Else states, it fuels “discrimination and stereotypes.” However, I never thought about how it goes both ways and only looked at my situation and viewpoint. I resonate when Elsa wrote: “The lack of ability to communicate with others in the society can lead to frustration, and among many other things, isolation.” Although English is my first language, not everything on my mind is clear, in a straight line. Even though the language barrier is different, I as well get frustrated trying to communicate my own thoughts and can somewhat relate to them. I also resonate with the idea of respecting elders even when they are wrong as well as sticking to my own bubble (where most of my friends are Asian, specifically Chinese). In my opinion, this piece’s structure is very well structured and flows well. It sounds passionate which made the reading more intriguing and it was very informative. Additionally, I like how Elsa ended her piece with a strong statement: “And it is only us who can choose our own identities.”
I learned about the culture in mainland China. Especially the structure and obedience that is present within the lives of students. Elsa later goes on to say, “There is barely any critical thinking involved, instead memorizing standard answers is the way to go.” Considering that the environment does not foster creative thinking, children may be limited to fewer options and paths that they can take. The part that resonated with me is when Elsa talks about wanting to stay in comfort zones, “The fact is, humans tend to stay in our comfort zones, and to use a language that you are not familiar with to study is already hard enough.” I only had to take one year of Spanish in high school. It wasn’t crazy difficult, however, I just did not want to go out of my way and learn the language at the time. International students, especially those that do not speak the language of their host country, should be commended for learning a new language, the rules and everything else that comes along with it if they decide to study abroad. Elsa was able to successfully transition through different ideas.
I learned about the challenges faced by international students. Elsa filled in many of the gaps as to why it is hard for international students to integrate with the societies around them. The biggest reason I took away was the feeling of uncomfortableness. I can relate to this because I believe that feeling has stopped me from doing a lot. Elsa answered a lot of the questions as to why I see so many international students but I interact with them so little. The place I interacted most with international students was the basketball gym. I believe this may have been because it was a space of comfortability for all of us.
What I learned from Elsa’s article is that Chinese students have a language barrier that makes it difficult to properly communicate in the language of the country they are going to for education. Also, I learned about Internet Censorship. Chinese language is one-of-a-kind. It is hard for Chinese people, knowing their own script, to learn an absolutely different Latin script. I can relate with some things from this article. For example, the lack of development of the critical thinking I experienced in my country, the same as Elsa was describing in “Cultural differences”. Also, I can relate to the statement that “humans tend to stay in our comfort zones”. Being an international student or just a student from a different country, it is always a struggle to communicate with people with a different mentality and a different language. People will always try to find and stick to people they are used to. The last thing that I can relate to is that Latin script is different from the script from my country (however not as different as Chinese).
I learned a lot from the essay and one thing that I didn’t give much thought to was how the mindset of international students has to change in order to fit in with the colleges in the United States. One thing I can resonate with the essay is how hard the process for international students as my cousin is also an international student. It would be really hard for him in school with homework. The language barrier would also be hard as there would be times where I can’t communicate with my cousin because there would be words I can’t translate. Overall, I never gave much thought to how it was really difficult for international students and the work they have to put in.
Elsa’s article really helped open my eyes to a new perspective. As she was explaining different struggles and differences that international students had to go through, it made me better understand what they were going through. When she explained that being in a bubble is what the international students built their lives around, it helped me realize how much of a struggle it actually is to fit into society not being a native. Although I personally cannot relate to any of this, in my opinion, I think that it helped me further understand what obstacles that international students have to face. Not only this, but the piece gave me a new perspective on something that I had never really thought about.
It seems as the struggles of being a foreign exchange student from China is a bit more problematic than from any other country. What leads me to say this is Elsa’s mention of how mainland China have their own version of the internet. So when you have a following already established there, it is hard to adjust to the world wide internet which everyone else has access too. This creates a problem in socializing and settling in to their new environment. As we know, most socialization between students tend to now occur on social media. When unwilling to adapt to this new form of social media, Chinese students are already at a disadvantage and face a harder struggle in meeting new people and making new friends.
I’ve learned about all the different kinds of struggles international students, specifically Chinese, face on a day to day basis. On top of what they had to deal with before schools were closed with the coronavirus pandemic. Starting off with cultural differences I learned that in china you need to be very obedient and just sit there and listen to your teacher. But here it’s more engaging, and we’re seen as equals. That’s good but it’s hard to adapt and change your whole mindset. Next is the language barrier, it makes it hard to communicate, understand, and make friends. It could make some insecure and feel as if they can’t participate. There’s also the internet censorship, even outside of their homeland they’re still able to be trapped. I learned a lot and im glad i read this article.
I learned a lot of new things from Elsa’s piece. I realized that there are colleges that only have international students for the money they can make off of them, and transitioning to studying in a new country has many challenges. One thing that resonated with me the most is when she talked about this being the first time they have to do any critical thinking. I think not being able to question someone because they are older can hinder growth, I’ve seen it many times in Indian households.
I felt as if I gained a lot of insight into the thoughts that international Chinese students have about American society. Coming from a college that didn’t have many international students, I began to see that it was increasingly difficult to make meaningful relationships with Baruch international students as opposed to their American counterparts. Language and cultural barriers, coupled with a controlling government make it difficult to integrate into American society. In addition, the fact that many international students won’t have the option to work or live in the U.S. after receiving their education further disincentives them from wanting to integrate into American society. In the future, I’d like to make more of an effort to connect with people who are much different than me so that we may better learn from each other.
I think Elsa has a very interesting point at the beginning of the article where she points out that some colleges inflate the prices of tuition for international students. I did ask myself why is it that students from China are seeking oversees education at a fast rate? I can relate to the cultural point made in the article, I have very strict parents, which is why I decided to dorm, it gave me some freedom, I had to make some adjustments and even then I sometimes felt pulled back in between two mindsets. I agree 100% percent that its so much harder for Chinese students to students to learn English or communicate in the same way others are able to because even their alphabet is different. I think the article does a very good job communicating the social, emotional and financial stress that international students ,mainly Chinese, have to face as outsiders coming in.
From reading Elsa’s essay, I learned the struggles of students that attend an international college. Not only is it difficult to communicate with others, but they are also discriminated against because, as she said they can’t express their thoughts as well as other English speakers. As an English American, I can partially relate to Elsa because our backgrounds are similar where we have to obey our parents and elders with respect. For me there are times when talking in either Chinese or English where I have trouble getting the correct phrases/words out, resulting in speaking “Chinglish.” Finally, Elsa’s essay is structured to captivate the speakers, small paragraphs make it harder to lose focus and it was straight to the point.
I learned about the hurdles that come with moving to a place with different cultures and customs from what an individual is use to. While I personally never had that challenge as I was born and raised in the city, my mother was also an immigrant who came from a place with a vastly different culture. The similarities aren’t exactly one to one but some things are similar such as the language barrier and cultural differences. This article echos the struggle of balancing the place you were born in from the place you are currently in, highlighting how only the individual can choose how they want to see themselves and not let others define them.
Elsa’s article pointed out some struggles that I haven’t even thought of. It must be so hard to try to adapt to a whole new writing system. That along with the other factors Elsa mentioned like different worldviews and treatment of elders, and media censorship…I can understand why Chinese international students tend to stick together. It can be uncomfortable and scary to visit a country so different from your own, where you have trouble expressing yourself and understanding how things are. I have tons of respect for these international students who are challenging themselves. Great job on the article, Elsa!