International Students in the USA - Essay Example

? The United s of America is a real magnet nation for international More international travel to the United s to study than any other nation (Institute on International Education, 2010). Many of these students are still in their teen-age years. They often travel to the United States as International Exchange Students. These scholars stay with host families and are integrated completely into American culture. Most of the international students coming to the United States to study, however, are going to be of university age. They go to the United States because of the great reputation universities in the United States have for teaching students. These students are often studying in technical fields such as computer science, engineering and biomedical studies that are not available to them in their home countries. Most international students are working to earn an undergraduate degree, but many are working on graduate and post-graduate degrees as well. One thing that the United States is famous for is the many different cultures that all coexist rather peacefully in one nation. This is attractive to students that are coming from countries where ethnic hatred or even open warfare is a reality. It is also very attractive to study in the United States if you are coming from a country where basic human rights and freedoms such as speech, religion and ownership of property are not guaranteed. Great school and a welcoming culture make studying in the United States the first choice for many international students. But this does not mean that there are not problems for international students that choose to study in the United States. I have a very close friend from China that ran into some real problems while studying at a university in the United States. He was very clear in stating that he did not hold the Americans responsible for his bad experiences. He realized after a while that an American studying in Beijing would probably have many of the same challenges, only they would be reversed. Communication between cultures is very difficult and this fact led to many of the misunderstandings and problems he encountered. The first problem centered on the use of the English language. My friend studied English all through school and felt that he was quite proficient in his use of the language. I remember he was very excited when he scored well on his TOEFEL test. He said that he felt that this was a real indication that he was ready to use the English language every day and do well. He soon learned that hew was wrong for several reasons. One reason language caused him to have a difficult time was the fact that going to a shop or a supermarket became a very stressful experience. In the town where he was living, many of the people at the check-out were very impatient. If he asked them to repeat something they said, even only once, they seemed to be agitated. One very rude person actually said, “Why don’t you come back when you can speak English right?” He wanted to speak with a manager to lodge a complaint about this very rude employee, but he was afraid he would not be able to communicate clearly with the manager. He was humiliated so he just handed some money over to the person and walked out of the store. He didn’t even stay to take his change. He heard the other workers laughing as he walked away. This was his worst experience because of his English language skills and it happened on one of his first days in the United States. My friend soon found a shop where the workers were more patient and polite, so this situation was soon solved. What he was not prepared for was the type of academic language that he had to deal with at the university. Classes were much harder than he expected because he was not able to process the language quickly enough to pay attention to what was being taught. He found himself falling more and more behind. He didn’t want to ask the professors for help, but finally got so desperate that he went to each of his teachers on the same day to beg for help. He was starting to feel sick every day and actually stayed in bed and missed classes for the first time in his life. He was shocked by the response of the professors. All five of them listened to him and he found that they were all very understanding. They explained that they could not change his assignments simply because he was an international student, but that they could get him extra help. He was introduced to a tutor that could help him in each class. These tutors actually became very good friends. One of them asked for some lessons in Mandarin, which my friend was happy to offer. This was a very difficult situation for my friend, all because he did not have good language skills. What he learned in the end was that classmates and professors are very willing to help if asked. Another major problem that my friend encountered several times in the United States was discrimination based on his ethnicity. In the town where he was living, almost everyone was Caucasian. He was one of only a few people that were Asian. The obvious differences in physical appearance seemed to make some people less trusting of my friend (Darden, 2009). He especially noticed that older people in the United States seemed to not like the fact that he was Asian. He actually overheard people at a community carnival call him a “Chink” and one person was observed making his eyes slanted and making a silly face. This experience really upset my friend. It made him feel lonely and afraid. Luckily he was with some friends that cheered him up. They told him that these people that were making fun of him were “rednecks” and that most people were not like them. Unfortunately, my friend had to put up with racist remarks for the full four years he was studying in the United States. He did eventually learn that most places in the United States were not like the small town he was living in. He wished that he lived in a larger city where there were more diverse people, but he liked the school he was attending so he stayed. Racism is a problem in the United States, especially in small towns and rural areas. If there was one thing my friend would change about America, it would be this. There were several cultural differences for between China and the United States that lead to some uncomfortable situations. None of them were the result of people being mean, as has been previously mentioned. They centered more on differences in culture and ways of living. Some of them turned out to be more humorous than they were upsetting. The first problem that became apparent was that people eat very fast in the United States. This was not a problem really until my friend started to have more friends to socialize with. He said that in China, people eat slowly. Meals where he came from, even lunch, could last for an hour. He said that he knew that it was not his way everywhere in China, but it was in his community. When he ate alone for his first year, he could take his time, read and relax. Once he made American friends, he found that they wanted to eat fast and then go to do something fun. They were always teasing him about being the last one eating. It really wasn’t a problem, but he said that once he started to have American friends he had to learn to eat faster and faster. He was able to adapt, but often felt a little sick after he ate (Zelman, 2010). Another cultural difference was the way students would dress to go to class. Students in the United States dress very sloppy to go to class (Strauss, 2010). They wear baggy clothing and often look like they did not bathe (sometimes they smell that way too). My friend always wore dress slacks and a button-up shirt to class. He was taught to do this and was told that students in the United States would dress this way as well. He was very disappointed to find that his clothes were very different than other students. For his first year, no one really spoke to him about it, mostly because he had not made any close friends. Finally, once he made friends, they told him he had to lose the weird clothes. They actually clapped the first day he came to class wearing sweat pants and flip-flops! A final cultural difference and source of difficulty for my friend was smoking. He had begun to smoke at a very young age in China. Everyone in his family and community smoked. And you were allowed to smoke everywhere. He was upset to learn that there were so many rules against smoking in the United States. Often in the middle of class, he would want a cigarette and would be tempted to exit the room to smoke in the hall, like in China. He also found that only one of his friends in America smoked. Most of the people found it to be offensive and they would actually tell him not to smoke in their cars, apartments and dorm rooms. He had a difficult time understanding this. He actually tried to quit smoking to impress a girl, but that did not work. He continued to smoke and she was not impressed. International students all have different experiences during their studies in the United States. My friend had some very bad experiences, but overall, he is very please with the education he received and the friends he made. He does think about going back to the United States to live, but is happy being in China for now. Works Cited Darden, J. (2009, October). Talking Race. Retrieved January 22, 2011, from Teaching Tolerance: http://www.tolerance.org/magazine/number-36-fall-2009/talking-race Institute on International Education. (2010, November 15). International Student Enrollments Rose Modestly in 2009/10, Led by Strong Increase in Students from China. Retrieved January 22, 2011, from IIE : http://www.iie.org/en/Who-We-Are/News-and-Events/Press-Center/Press-Releases/2010/2010-11-15-Open-Doors-International-Students-In-The-US Strauss, V. (2010, January 7). The Answer Sheet. Retrieved January 22, 2011, from The Washington Post: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/montgomery-county-public-schoo/are-sweatpants-too-sloppy-to-w.html Zelman, K. M. (2010, February 26). SLow Down You Eat Too Fast. Retrieved January 23, 2011, from WebMd: http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/slow-down-you-eat-too-fast?page=2 Read More