The Truth About Being a Chinese International Student

According to the 2018 - 2019 Campus Profile of University of California, Santa Barbara, within the international student population of the whole campus, 73 percent of international students have come from mainland China. However, other students do not have a sense of who Chinese international students actually are, or even completely understand Chinese international students.

      

In the past two years, I have heard many terms that others tend to describe us. “They are just a bunch of rich kids trying to get an American diploma,” “They got money, why do they care about school?” And last quarter, I have even heard a group of people was saying “They are like ‘giant babies’” and so on. Stereotypes and biases are like ropes that tie up all Chinese students.

Nevertheless, being a Chinese international student myself, I would like others to hear our side of the story. Let me describe what it is like to be an international student who’s studying abroad.In Wechat (a Chinese social media), there is a popular network quote , “The color of the outside is the darkest of the day; it feels like all the lights no longer excite. However, in this dark, we are still awake,” can really express the daily life of most of us. I believe, there is a large number Chinese students can relate to this quote.

Unlike what others say about us, we come to the U.S to study because we have a dream. We try our best to work hard because we know that we need to put in more effort than our American counterparts. We know that our English is not perfect. Thus, we need to try even harder than others. Before studying abroad, back home, after 12 means saying “Good night” to family and friends. Now, while we are here, 12 is nothing but a number. We always stay awake till two or three in the morning, studying and trying to make ourselves better.

      

We, Chinese students, care about many things. But we just don’t like to share because we are afraid that our parents would hear everything that we have been through and would start worrying about us. Our home is over 6000 miles away, thus, every time when we talk with our parents through FaceTime, or videos calls, or just a phone call, we want to show our best to them. We want them to know that they have nothing to worry about us.

      We also care about the future. Studying abroad isn’t cheap, we hope every cent that we spend here in the US is worth it. People sometimes might only see things on the outside, like our fashion choices or the way we dress, however, they have never seen the tears and the sweat and the loneliness that we carry.

      

Most international students would love to make friends, and we hope we can build bonds with others. We like to talk about ourselves, and to share our traditional cultures with others. We also like to eat (maybe not every food here) but we would love to try all of them. We also sing and dance. Perhaps we are hindered by our Chinese accents, but nonetheless, music, I believe,  allows us to all have fun together.

      

We are just like others. because there is no such thing that can distinguish students who are all here to learn . And more importantly, we should not have invisible walls between to set us apart; instead, let’s try to know each other a little better. After that, we will see each other in a new light.

      

We are in UC Santa Barbara. We have brilliant sunshine, a boundless ocean, and fascinating beaches. So, let’s put aside the judgment and prejudice, and enjoy our time together.