A recent photo of Gong Hongyu, a media and education major at Columbia University.
Every overseas student has his own way to cope with how to adapt to the differences and resonate in the accommodation when he is studying abroad and living in a foreign country. In this regard, the author interviewed five overseas students and asked them to share the cross-cultural exchange stories during their study abroad and how to unlock the cultural characteristics of different countries.
Studying in America: "You did a good job"
Gong Hongyu, who will graduate at the end of this year, is majoring in media and education at Columbia University in the United States. Because of the epidemic, she can’t return to school, so she can only continue to complete her studies in the form of online classes in China. What bothers her is the time difference. During daytime classes in new york, Gong Hongyu had to get up at night in Beijing time, and the quality of online learning declined.
Looking back on her cultural exchange experience during her study abroad, what impressed Gong Hongyu was the encouraging communication between people, which also made her more confident. She told the author that if a person walks on the road, someone may say "I like your shoes". Teachers will guess what students want to say next and help students complete their expression when they have obstacles in English expression and can’t speak. "The teacher’s mantra is’ Your work is excellent’ and’ You did a good job’. There is a feeling that no matter how you do, the teacher will always find a compliment. In fact, most Americans we meet in our daily lives are like this, and everyone is happy to praise others. "
In addition, the interaction between strangers anytime and anywhere also impressed Gong Hongyu. She hears greetings like "Have a nice day" many times every day on various occasions and says them many times herself. "After getting used to it for a while, I also became willing to talk and do what I want."
But there are also some experiences that make Gong Hongyu feel unhappy. "On one occasion, when I went to McDonald’s to order food, the salesgirl was friendly to the customer in front and communicated with me with a smile. When I arrived, the clerk’s face showed a disgusted expression. At that time, I felt very sad and felt that the clerk was not very friendly to Chinese. " Gong Hongyu said, "In fact, only by actively understanding can the two sides really communicate."
What makes Gong Hongyu uncomfortable is going out at night. Going out at night in China will not worry about safety, but abroad, Gong Hongyu said that he would not go out at night unless he had to, because "it is still not safe".
Studying in France: Different attitudes towards the epidemic
Su Chaoyue studied in the Paris campus of a French business school. Speaking of cultural differences, Su Chaoyue was most impressed by the attitude of local people towards the COVID-19 epidemic. Some of her French classmates think that COVID-19 is not terrible, and it is only when the elderly are infected that it will be dangerous. "At the same time, for some the French who advocate freedom, even if they think it is risky, they can’t give up the party." Su chaoyue said.
Su Chaoyue still remembers that in the early days of the outbreak, she needed to go to class every day. At that time, there were not many people wearing masks on the streets of Paris. "I really took classes while worrying. It was not until mid-March this year that the school closed classes and changed to online classes." Su chaoyue said.
Studying in Canada: Cultural Diversity and Mutual Tolerance
Yan Jingkun, 24, studied in Canada. Although he has graduated, he still remembers the cross-cultural exchange experience during his study abroad. In her impression, on the whole, Canada is an inclusive and friendly country, and all bookstores, shopping places and art galleries reflect the characteristics of cultural diversity.
During her study abroad, she had a deep understanding of the equal exchanges between school administrators and students. On one occasion, Yan Jingkun encountered the problem of course selection, but at that time he could only communicate by email. After the email was sent, Yan Jingkun never received a reply from the professor, so he reflected the problem to the relevant person in charge of the school and hoped to solve it. On the same day, she received an email that the professor wanted to meet, and patiently and kindly explained why she didn’t reply to the email in time. She also considered the problem from her point of view during the subsequent course selection.
For many international students, renting a house while studying abroad is a must. What makes Yan Jingkun happy is that the security and property management personnel of the house she rented are very conscientious and everyone gets along well. She remembers that the rented place will carry out range hood alarm test and water pipe test at regular intervals; The security guard will also take good care of each household’s express delivery, and deliver the express delivery as soon as the household goes home. If the express delivery items are large, they will also help the household to send them upstairs.
Studying in Australia: Feeling Friendly and Adapting to the New Rhythm
The experience of studying in Singapore and Australia has made Xiu Xiu (a pseudonym) feel deeply about cross-cultural communication, and those stories are still in her memory.
While studying in Australia, she studied at Queensland University of Technology, majoring in mechanical engineering. Australia is an immigrant country with a high tolerance for cultural diversity. During the three years of studying and living in Australia, most people Xiu Xiu met were friendly and polite. Only once during a trip to Melbourne, a teenager once called Xiu Xiu and her friend "China".
Xiu Xiu said that in Australia, walking in the street, no matter whether they are familiar with each other, they will smile or say hello; When getting off the bus, every passenger will say thank you to the driver, and the driver will also help passengers with mobility difficulties get on and off … All these make her feel friendly.
Xiu Xiu was also impressed by some humanized measures in Australia, such as the general staff will not work overtime on Saturdays and Sundays, some supermarkets will provide free fruits to children, and universities are equipped with free psychological counselors, so international students can also ask for help if they encounter psychological problems.
In Xiu Xiu’s eyes, Australia is also a country that pays attention to rules, and sometimes its work efficiency is reduced because of its strong sense of rules. For example, there are many bank card procedures in Australia, which takes a relatively long time; Sometimes when a large amount of cash is deposited in the bank, the staff will give the handler an envelope, put the cash in, and then manually count the money; It will take at least one to two weeks to rent a house to handle the network before someone will come to install it … "This pace of work requires international students to adapt slowly. To talk about the slow pace, I have to mention the express delivery in Australia, which feels more like slow delivery, and it may also encounter the situation of not receiving it. " Xiu Xiu said.
Studying in New Zealand: The locals can speak simple Chinese.
Danny, who is studying for a master’s degree in Auckland, has been in New Zealand for nearly two and a half years. In his eyes, some locals will download WeChat, speak simple Chinese and eat in Chinese restaurants … "Most New Zealanders are friendly and have a good impression of Chinese. What makes me happy is that I have made Maori friends. " In Danny’s view, this is inseparable from New Zealand’s immigration and cultural diversity.
But Danny still felt the difference. For example, New Zealanders have a strong sense of rules. Danny noticed that at the intersection with traffic lights, even if there are two identical lanes, people usually line up in their own lane and don’t change lanes at will. The same situation also occurs in shopping malls. If you go shopping in shopping malls, customers will not change the queue at will, but wait patiently.
Foreign students say: How to improve understanding and break through the barriers of cross-cultural communication is directly related to whether the career of studying abroad can continue smoothly …
All the pictures in this edition are from the Internet.
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