Read International Students from Mainland China: Struggles to Integrate. What did you learn from this piece? Did it teach you something new? Did it reinforce what you already knew? What resonated most with you? Your response should be between four and eight sentences long.
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Elsa Zhou describes a sense of isolation and frustration that Chinese international students experience, from the foreign language and culture. I think this experience is shared by immigrants that find it difficult to conform to new cultures. Zhou also explains that the large ethnic Chinese communities overseas act as their “safe haven”, meaning sometimes there isn’t a need to leave this bubble. I’ve definitely witnessed this through the people my parents surround themselves with: individuals who also speak Chinese. On a larger scale, this is more visible in ethnic communities that form in New York – in which we immediately associate a certain area with an ethnic group. I think this reaffirms Zhou’s belief that the Chinese identity forms communities that then unconsciously act as barriers preventing international students, and even immigrants, from venturing out of their bubble in fear of discomfort.
After reading this piece, I was able to gain a rare perspective on international students. Even though there are many international students around me, I never heard their stories and what it was like living in a foreign world. The part that resonated with me the most was when Elsa describes how they stay in their own bubble because they have every thing they need. This can apply to many people and not just international students. Overall, this piece was very eye-opening.
Zhou’s International Students from Mainland China:Struggles to Integrate explains how culture, language, media censorship and immigration all contribute to the struggles international Chinese students face. Zhou talked about the how obedience is important and constantly reflected in Chinese culture. I knew culture influenced one’s identity but I didn’t realize that could pose an issue for an international student. To the point that it can lead them to “reshaping their entire mindset and worldview.”
Elsa Zhou’s article, International students from Mainland China: Struggles to integrate, discusses the difficulties that many Mainland Chinese students face when enrolling in foreign universities, and the number of Chinese students attending foreign universities is only growing. This article opened my eyes to the fact that many colleges are nothing more than major businesses. The reason for this is that international students bring more money to the table because they pay higher tuition than everyone else, and the majority of students who study abroad receive little or no financial aid in return. Zhou taught me that international students do not simply come to learn, however they must completely change their lifestyles to adapt to a new way of life. Furthermore, Zhou brought up a issue that I was already aware of: many international students face language barriers because they are studying in another country. I can relate to one of Zhou’s points; even though I am not an international student, I am constantly exposed to stereotypes since you hear them basically everywhere you go.
This article relates very much to the people surrounding me and even myself. I know how immigration and the language barrier look like from my own experience. I’ve spent a few years studying in different countries since I was a child. I knew the language before I went to other countries, so adjusting to a different culture was not difficult for me, particularly after I became accustomed to changing my environment. However, I understand Elsa’s argument. I am from a Chinese background, and this article especially connects to my parents. They have little connection with other ethnic groups and surround by Chinese communities due to language differences. Finally, it is a new understanding when Elsa talked about the difficulty international students were facing because I did not know how much social media and internet filtering influenced them with the shift and transition to interact with local people.
Elsa Zhou’s explains the struggles of international students who come into society. She listed things like language barriers and cultural differences that international students have to adjust to. There’s a false perception that is executed between the Mainland Chinese and foreigners because of the lack of communication, so a lot of discrimination and stereotype’s happen. I already kind of knew What resonated with me is that I have many relatives and people I know of because of my parents, that struggle with the false perception idea and often like Elsa said they stay in their own bubble. This is because they feel more comfortable and less vulnerable in their own bubble, and more than sometimes I feel like staying in my own bubble is good for me mentally.
As i’ve experienced more and more college classes i’ve been exposed to many foreign student. To some extent i was aware of the hardships international students would face learning in a new language, or learning a new language in general, and the fact that Chinese (Mandarin i’m going to assume) is so different it makes it extremely hard for non native speakers who’s home language isn’t germanic and latin based (i suppose). overall though, i was aware of this and it mostly reinforced something that i wasn’t so knowledgeable about, but now i am slightly more.
From reading the piece by Elsa Zhou I was able to learn about an entirely new set of circumstances and struggles that international students face I that I would not even have thought of. For example, I never knew foreign students had to pay a full tuition to come to a school in the states while not receiving any type of aid, this puts in perspective how challenging it already it can be as a foreign student but the added bills that most American born students don’t face is shocking. A part that resonated with me was how foreign students usually do not travel out of their comfort zone because of either language or cultural barriers. It was also unfortunate to learn those barriers can also contribute to those foreign students to decrease their chances of getting jobs even though it is something out of their control.
I think that Elsa Zhou’s article reinforced my knowledge surrounding the struggles of international students whether it be the language barrier or cultural differences between the Chinese culture and the country they choose to study in. I liked how the author mentioned this concept of family piety that is significant in the Chinese culture because it offers an explanation of why there are stereotypes of Chinese international students being shy. If their upbringing was to listen and obey and not speak up and participate that is encouraged like in the U.S, it will be an area they need time to assimilate into. It was also interesting to hear how an existing community in actuality could be a barrier for international students to integrate because you’re too comfortable and deciding to study in a foreign country requires you to be uncomfortable. I liked how the article ended with the idea of identity and left notes on the stories of international students that are successful in integrating whether that means they choose to stay and form their own family or decide to not stay after and bring their experiences back home. Regardless, I think studying abroad is an eye-opening experience that is very valuable and that it takes a lot of courage to be an international student.
After reading “International students from Mainland China: Struggles to integrate” I had learned many new struggles foreign students have to go through in order to attend an American college or university, in addition there was also a lot of information which I had already known that was reinforced. For example, one fact I learned from the article was that it is extremely difficult for Chinese immigrants to adopt to other identities. I did not know that adopting was an extremely difficult process which almost all of these immigrants go through. An idea that really resonated with me was how Chinese families tend to follow the elderly even though they may be wrong. It is often extremely difficult to disobey your families beliefs even though you may think it is wrong or right, it is oftentimes impossible to voice your opinion to the elderly.
This piece was honestly so informative and really helped me become more sensitive on this topic. Sometimes we are so worried about ourselves that we forget the struggles of others. What I didn’t really ever think about was that because international students are seen as “foreign”, they can have a difficult time finding a job. This article also reinforced what I already knew about Chinese culture and how difficult it must be to integrate into new customs in another country. What resonated with me the most was how complex the Chinese language is and how “a single Chinese character is more like the equivalent of an English word”. Not only is their language difficult enough, but having to learn another language like English can become very frustrating.
This piece was an eye opener for me. I always knew that the Chinese education system was different but I was surprised to read that there is no independent thinking. Overall, this piece reassured my already existing knowledge of life in China, which is very censored. I feel that the part that spoke about living in the bubble resonated the most since in the Jewish world there is a very similar idea. People can go their entire lives without leaving the bubble. The issue with that is those people never really experience life since they don’t ever step out of their comfort zone.
I learned about the difficulties of international students and how they deal with the new environment, especially when it comes to all new things. They have to pay higher tuition fees than other students, struggle to find a job, and the difficulty getting financial aids. What resonates most with me is that they stay in their own bubbles because of their language barriers, and the fear of interacting with local people. International students must adapt to different cultures and other differences such as social media. Therefore, even if I am also Chinese, this article is very helpful, allowing me to learn new things.
Elsa Zhou’s piece provided me with incite on a perspective that I truthfully did not know a lot about before. As someone who has only left the United States once, as much as I may try, it is very difficult for me to understand how it feels to be an outsider in foreign place. It is so impressive that international students from mainland China overcome the challenges they are faced with when they attend American colleges. Deconstructing a whole system of learning in school and behaving in everyday life are unimaginable to me. A part that I found particularly interesting is when Zhou describes how many Chinese students surround themselves with others who speak the same language and share their culture because it is hard enough to use a foreign language in class. It is only natural to crave a break during one’s relaxation time, so I completely understand why this is a tendency, but I have never really considered that before. It is unfortunate that this creates a bigger barrier between the Chinese students and their peers, thus isolating them even further.
Elsa’s Medium piece reinforced a lot of what I already knew. What resonated most with me from this blog is the idea of feeling a lot more comfortable around other Chinese. This could be because my hobbies and pastimes more in common with those of other Chinese people, making it easier for me to make friends and build relations with them. However, Elsa gives another reason why this could be: there is just a lot of already existing Chinese communities to integrate into. Assimilating into a community whose culture is not your own is always met with more friction than assimilating into a community whose culture you already identify with. Additionally, I found that my hobbies and pastimes more in common with those of other Chinese people, making it easier for me to make friends and build relations with them. As such, I would much rather choose the path with less friction and forego the other options, making it so I never truly try to integrate into a non-Chinese community. Therefore, what Elsa says is correct: the discrimination goes both ways as both parties lack true understanding of each others’ communities.
After reading Elsa Zhou’s piece on the difficulties international students face, it reminded me of the international students who went to my high school. The international students I knew faced some of the struggles Elsa mentions in her work such as the language barrier and cultural differences which reinforced my knowledge of these students. I would often see these students struggle as it was difficult at some points for them to communicate exactly what they wanted to say as Elsa mentioned in the section about the language barrier. Internet censorship was one fact that shocked me when I first met the Chinese international students at my school because they would often speak of using a VPN in China to access platforms like Instagram. Elsa’s point about people being trapped in the same ideology is strengthened by my own experience when I see on Twitter what Chinese fans are saying about Chinese shows I watch and whatever happens to be trending is the ideology that most people will follow. Issues that are a major problem in the US could be issues people on Chinese media see to be minor problem and vice versa.