How to Survive in USA ——Life of International Students Part I

Before the story:

“I’m not the only one telling the story. I’m one of those hundred and thousand of international students who come across half of the globe to study in USA. We never knew each other before, but now we come together for our dreams. Studying abroad, of course, not only means loneliness, home-sick and frustration, but also fills with excitement, new things and independence. And now, we want to show you our stories.”

Part one: How to talk

It was 12 am in the morning. After 15 hours flight, I eventually landed in Providence. As I was walking toward the exit carrying my 5 suitcases alone, I saw my new host family nearby. They were calling my name and waving to me. My new life officially began.

People say in the first few weeks you come to a new country, everything you are experiencing is different. It is a time full of surprises and excitement so we just call it “honeymoon”. I reckon this is true because I did find so many things different between China and USA. Greeting, as a daily need, surprised me the first. (This is mainly my story. Other international students might have different reactions due to different personalities.)

As I was talking with Americans, I found out their ways of speaking is a lot different with Chinese people. American are more open and passionate. For instance, they really express their feelings strongly like “OMG!” Traditional Chinese do not like to show too much emotion to other people while talking; but now after staying here for a year we gradually get used to the American way of expression. Of course, we can be pretty talkative sometimes. We regard having meals as a good way to have conversations, which means, you would see us discuss something important or celebrate when eating together. But we also have complicated etiquette at the same time, like “Do not let other people see the food in your mouth.” or “Do not eat until the eldest starts. ”

Another thing is American often greet each other using the words like “How are you,” “How was your day so far,” “What’s up?” These are actually similar in the Beijing (the capital city of China) dialect greeting “Did you eat?” We don’t really want to know whether you eat or not but just a way to say “Hi.” Nevertheless, if you do not understand their way of talking, like I did in the beginning, it would be pretty strange. I still remember once a girl asked me “How was your day?” Not knowing what to answer, I talked about my whole day in details and……Well, let’s just stop here.

Apart from these emotions and daily expression, the speaking habit is also distinctive. American, or most westerners, talk really straight. However, Chinese are obsessed with talking euphemistically, thus you leave space for both sides and no one would feel too embarrassed. This also sounds more decent in public. The first example that comes to my mind is the attitude towards compliment. If you praise a Chinese, he or she will respond humbly, like “Thanks but I’m actually not that good.” While as for an American, they will just say “Thank you!” Though it’s a little bit complicated, for us it is a basic courtesy and keep the harmony atmosphere.

Though many Chinese people nowadays are not influenced by those habits such strongly, we still regard it as an important tradition. If you want to learn more, here is a link: http://goldstarteachers.com/7-differences-between-chinese-and-american-culture/

Forecast for next article: food (Genuine vs. American Chinese); eating/cooking habits; KFC in China vs. in America