Yale engineering students in the late 1800s (look at those outfits!), including Chinese student Luk Wing Chuan
(via What Was it Like to be a Chinese Student in 19th Century America? « VOA Student Union)
Six boys from the first Chinese educational mission to the US in 1872 - Chung Mun Yew, Liang Tun Yen, Sze Kin Yung, New Shan Chow and two unidentified others
(via What Was it Like to be a Chinese Student in 19th Century America? « VOA Student Union)
Photos from the first official program to send Chinese students to study in the US, which was in the 1800s. This one shows Chung Mun Yew (center), who led Yale University’s crew team as coxswain. (via What Was it Like to be a Chinese Student in 19th Century America? « VOA Student Union)
You definitely want to watch this amazing video documenting Qian’s personal and academic growth over the past few years, and sharing some of the lessons she learned at Syracuse University as she struggled with language, professors, and talking into a camera.
(via Trying, Failing and Growing: A Look Back at My College Journey « VOA Student Union)
Forgot to post this when I found it last week, but it’s awesome. Click the link or video for full English translation.
(via Putting Aside What’s Comfortable to Do What’s Meaningful « VOA Student Union)
5 Articles That Will Change How You See the World
5. What Does it Mean to “Be American” As a Chinese Student?
The struggle to define yourself, and to decide how much your definition of self is in relation to others, is something everyone goes through in college. But when you’re struggling to define yourself within another culture, as Qian has, it takes on a whole other dimension.
Waking from an alcoholic stupor after a party and walking in 5-inch-heels with my friends in the empty streets of Hong Kong at 3:00 am, I kept asking myself again and again, “Is this the life you want? If yes, why did you feel uncomfortable? If no, why do you have to continue this lifestyle you don’t actually enjoy?”
(Also make sure to take a look at Tara’s thoughts about dating in America, the “relationship talk,” and the fascinating differences in Chinese and American attitudes towards relationships)
4. Apetito and Acai Berries: Beauty and Weight in Zimbabwe and America
When being in America means redefining what it means to be “beautiful” and “healthy.” Senzeni explores the obsession with weight in America, and back home in Zimbabwe.
During my freshman year, I watched with undisguised fascination as my friends would eat not to fill their stomachs, but to ensure that they had just barely met their daily calorie requirement. I also remember, vividly, watching helplessly as my American roommate’s face clouded over when I “complimented” her that she had gained weight (as you may have guessed, in America this is not a compliment).
Michigan State University very bravely posted this video, featuring a candid discussion among Chinese students and American students about the challenges in forming cross-cultural relationships. It prompted a lot of discussion among our bloggers over the weekend.
One person said that they agree that it can be difficult to form close relationships because Chinese and American students don’t always share the same interests (like American football). Someone else felt disheartened to hear some of the opinions from the American students, saying that it should be up to the American students just as much as the Chinese ones to open up communication and start building relationships. And a third said that schools don’t always do enough to facilitate this sort of relationship-building.
Watch this video and see what you think. Does it leave you feeling positive or negative about relations between American and international students? What do you think these students could or should have done to improve communication? Leave a comment and let us know!
(via Whose Fault is it When American and International Students Don’t Mix? « VOA Student Union)
Not the Home of My Memories, but Still Home
We’ve been hearing a lot about how studying abroad changes your definition of home. Olena found it difficult at first to settle back into life in Ukraine. For Sebastian, transitioning between Kansas and Bolivia is easy, but he struggled to accept that Kansas now feels as much like home as his birthplace. Qian too feels she has two homes now, but going back to China is not exactly how she imagined it would be.
Photo by Shai Barzilay
For American college students, time off such as Thanksgiving week, winter break, spring break and summer vacation usually is a time to go home. But for Chinese students in the U.S., myself included, the cost and distance to get home, combined with the requirements of school work and internships, can sometimes keep us away from home for quite a while.
As a result, the home we go back to is not always the same one we left, or that we imagine in our heads.
For example, I have a 9-year-old cousin, once my sweetest little angel, who I watched grow up. This winter when I went back to Chengdu, I bought her several child-size-10 dresses as Christmas gifts. However, as soon as I met her at the airport, I realized those dresses were too small for her; she was already in 5th grade and in the year since I’d seen her had grown to almost five feet tall!
At the Political Crossroads, Proud but Open-Minded
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.
Read the original story and more like it on the Student Union main site
