Chinese students in the U.S. can be in for political clash as well as culture clash

For international students who are studying abroad in the United States, doubtless one challenge is culture clash. However, for Chinese students, me included, there is another crucial one – political clash.

Majoring in international relations, I have taken many courses that are related to Chinese politics. Tibet, Taiwan, human rights, freedom of speech and dictatorship are the top five issues that American students in my politics classes here in the United States tend to put on the table and criticize while talking about China. Sometimes, it can make things uncomfortable for Chinese students, who are extremely sensitive about those issues.

I still remember the first writing class in my freshman year, when a girl introduced herself by saying “I’m Taiwanese,” and another student from mainland China responded, “We are asking which country you come from, not which province.” Suddenly, the entire class was in a complete and embarrassing silence.

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We recently added academic ranks and titles to the Glossary of Confusing Words, and had a request to add types of degrees as well.  Always happy to oblige!

Here are the types of academic degrees you might encounter in U.S. higher education, and what each one means:

Certificate – Recognition for completing a non-degree program.  Some colleges or universities also allow you to pursue a certificate while studying for a degree in another field.

Associate’s – The degree given by a community or junior college for completing two years of full-time undergraduate study (or the equivalent).  An associate’s degree can be tied to a specific career/technical skill, or it can be a transfer degree, counting towards the completion of a bachelor’s degree at another institution.

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As November is on its last couple of days, I would like to look back on what these past few weeks have left us international students, living in our surrogate home. Many of us Student Union bloggers will probably be talking about Thanksgiving, a truly American holiday, and I will too, but I believe there are a couple of November traditions that are less discussed, that also deserve some space in these pages.

Pi Day pies (Creative commons photo by Flickr user Dennis Wilkinson)

As Nareg pointed out in a previous post, Americans can find pretty interesting ways of turning insignificant dates into slightly more festive days, a fact he supported with examples such as Pi Day, held on March 14 (3/14) or the slightly darker April 20 (4/20).

But let’s start with the obvious one first. As you might know already, the fourth Thursday of the month is celebrated in America as Thanksgiving, when people get together with their families and are thankful for all the things they have. This day, also known as Turkey Day due to the major consumption of said bird, is characterized by family gatherings, large amounts of food ingestion, and a relaxed and jolly atmosphere all around (and, as Jessica let us know before, some other, weirder happenings).

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It has been around three months since I arrived in the United States, and I’m still always excited to experience new things, especially those exclusive to America, adding to my long list of firsts. Last week, my new first was celebrating Thanksgiving in the historic city of Charleston, South Carolina.

Sullivan Island

On the beautiful Thanksgiving morning, my friends and I headed to a sunny, cold beach on Sullivan’s Island. Away from the hustle and bustle of downtown, we relaxed and hung out on the beach, a rather unusual way to kick off Thanksgiving.

It was our excuse to try something different before each of us headed off for our more standard celebrations. We took advantage of the strong wind that morning by flying kites, while munching on snacks along the way, among other things.

Later that day I embarked on my first traditional American Thanksgiving meal. I had the pleasure of joining my friend Orlin and his family, along with another friend.

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The traditional Thanksgiving turkey (Photo: Food Network)

The fourth Thursday of November is the American holiday of Thanksgiving.  It’s one of America’s most deeply-held national traditions, and one that we love to show off to foreign students.  A day to eat good food in the company of loved ones and give thanks for what we have – what could be nicer?

But Thanksgiving has developed a whole bunch of other traditions around it that don’t make quite as much sense. Here are some of the weirdest things that happen on American Thanksgiving:

1) Christmas starts

The New York Times’ “The Choice” blog has been holding a Q&A about financial aid, and we asked their financial aid expert (Mark Kantrowitz of finaid.org) whether he had any advice for international students. He gave a matter of fact (and not-so-rosy) picture of what foreign students can expect in terms of assistance:

Before a student can obtain an F-1, J-1 or M-1 visa, the student must demonstrate that he or she has sufficient resources to cover the cost of his or her education. An F-1 visa requires the student to demonstrate that he or she has enough money to pay for the first year of study, though some colleges will require students to demonstrate that they have enough money to cover the entire stay in the United States. Students entering on an M-1 or J-1 visa must demonstrate that they have enough money to cover the entire stay in the United States.

Don’t count on being able to earn the rest of the money after you arrive in the United States. International students and their spouses are not allowed to work while in the United States on a student visa except in very limited circumstances.

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December 22, 2011 I landed in the land of the “American dream.” Since then, I have discovered tons of dilemmas about life in America. Here are some of the things I’ve struggled with during my almost one year in the States.

The weather makes my nose run every morning

LAX airport in California welcomed me with a big rain. My uncle aunt joked that I brought rain from Saigon to America. I should explain this joke to you. Saigon, where I come from, is the old name of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. Vietnam is a tropical country where it rains most of the year. Before going to the U.S., actually, I had no idea what to expect about its weather, but the big rain on my arrival gave me the first anticipation of what the weather here might be like.

California is known for having a great climate – more sunshine, cooler in summer and warmer in winter. The amount of rain this year is considered unusual. However, having been here for a pretty long while now, I have experienced various forms of climate in California. For example, in the summer, you can walk around the house in a bikini, but at night you should bring a jacket to go out.

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We’re searching the web to find webinars and other online events of interest to prospective international students.  Check here each Friday to find out what’s coming up in the next week.

Your end of the bargain? If you attend, report back and let us know what you learned! (Use the comments, the Facebook page or just email me – jstahl@voanews.com)

Coming up next week:

Slim pickings, since it’s Thanksgiving week in the U.S., but here’s one at least…

November 22

EducationUSA: How Undergraduate Admissions Decisions are Made
11am US Eastern time
More information: http://www.educationusa.info/edusa_connects/

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Have you ever thought what your university is most proud of? What is its most precious resource? You got it right – it is the accomplished professors teaching at your school who are the most valuable resource for students like you. They are here to empower you with knowledge, inspire you to pursue issues you care about and guide you throughout your college years as you explore your future career.

When I arrived at Mount Holyoke, I knew what classes I wanted to take, what major and minor I wanted to complete, and what kind of career exactly I wanted to pursue after college. I was very confident about my choices. However, I am taking completely different classes this semester, pursuing a different major, and learning about career opportunities I have not thought about before.

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Brunch at an American dining hall (Creative Commons photo by Flickr user superfem)

A few weeks before I was set to leave home and start over in Minnesota, I remember I was very depressed about leaving my family and friends. One thing I never thought about was food; how badly I would miss my mother’s dishes, and how food would be a huge part of my culture shock.

Many of you might be wondering why I would be talking about food, and asking if I have forgotten all about McDonald’s, Burger King, and Pizza Hut. Well my dear friends, they might taste good at some point but let me ask you a very critical question: would they still taste as good if you kept eating them every single day for four years? Take a moment and try to answer it.

I don’t know about your culture, but let me tell you something about my Arabic-Islamic-Middle Eastern culture. We do love our food very much.  We do lots of home-cooked dishes: the basmati white & brown rice, spicy chicken breasts that are served in different styles, Dolma, Biryani and of course the delicious meat of lambs. We also don’t go out to eat as much as people in this country do. I remember my mother would be annoyed if we asked my father to take us out.

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Sharing food from home with other students. These are George Washington University students eating dumplings, noodles, tofu, and food prepared by Asian students.

To be totally honest, I don’t think American food is bad. Back home I would eat pizza once a month – it was a special event and I loved each and every time I did it. Quality of pizza? Either the same or even better here.

The same happens with a lot of different kind of foods, but I still can’t stand a day without craving for the most simple things I used to have back home: meals as simple as plain white rice with potatoes and chicken, chicken soup made with the bone, sometimes even without the meat. Or recipes that use crushed red peppers to use them as the base of a red sauce that (for me at least) can beat single-handed any BBQ they have here in Kansas, home of the “original” BBQ sauce. Or some things that have made me look like a fool here, like putting beer in the pot where you are boiling beef, onions, peas, tomatoes and carrots at the same time. In a few words, completely different food.

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The Institute of International Education has released its annual Open Doors report, which provides data on international students in the U.S.  (you might remember we talked about the report this time last year).  This year’s report covers the 2010/2011 school year and reveals some interesting trends in who’s studying in the U.S. and why.

There’s a nifty “Fast Facts” PDF if you want to check out some of the trends yourself.  Here’s what we found interesting:

1)      The number of international students in the United States increased by 5% in 2010/2011.

2)      Once again, that growth comes largely from China, which had a 23% increase in international students.

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We have a student e-mail list at the graduate school I am attending. It gets all sorts of posts and threads (groups of posts and responses to them), from announcements of free food, to the buying and selling of goods and services, outings, events, academic questions and answers, news and video clips … the works.

A student from India made an interesting observation on it not too long ago. He said:

I recently became aware of a cross-cultural academic nuance that I had to share. Apparently it is inappropriate to ask fellow students about their grades here in the US. This is in complete contrast to the educational experience in India where not only is this a very fair question, you almost never had to ask to find out. That is because a lot of schools would post the result of the entire student body on public notice boards for everyone to see.

This nuance (“Cultural étiquette 101″, as he put it) came as a bit of news to me too, actually. I come from India as well, and although I never went to college there, people were indeed very free and open about their marks at school. They were never grades, by the way - what do those few letters mean, after all? It was always marks out of a hundred or out of twenty or twenty-five; competition was stiff among the millions of students in India and getting, say, 91.2% or 91.3% might have made all the difference between acceptance and rejection to an institution or a scholarship.

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What’s the most popular American holiday? Christmas? Thanksgiving? No way! Based on what I’ve observed for the past two years, I’d have to say that it’s Halloween for sure! Many people take Halloween very seriously here. They start preparing far in advance and spend lots of money on getting all the stuff they need to make Halloween unforgettable. There is even  a chain store near my school, called Halloween City, which is open just a couple of months a year, selling decorations and costumes specifically for Halloween.

Like a lot of foreigners, when I thought of Halloween I imagined people dressing up as devils and black cats, drinking beyond all measure, and misbehaving in the streets. Well, from what I’ve seen most of it is true, except for dressing up only as devils or black cats. The variety of costumes people wear is amazing. You can see not only evil creatures, but also all sorts of characters featured in popular movies like Avatar, or music stars like Lady Gaga.

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