First, social adaptation
Language communication is the foundation of social life. Imagine if you suddenly cross (it is not an exaggeration to use the word "crossing" to describe the experience of flying to a country on the other side of the world) to a country that only speaks one language and few people understand Chinese. You should not only learn a language to buy food, take the bus, do your homework in class, negotiate with the landlord to rent a house, but also find a job in a language, establish a good relationship with your boss and colleagues, and improve your self-cultivation in your spare time, but there are only books in one language. The protagonist of any travel novel is probably abused to pieces. Even parents, middle-aged people with a successful career and a positive and healthy attitude, if you suddenly live in another "planet" with nothing, and your language ability becomes "the level of primary school students", how sure are you that you can withstand this huge change?
A sense of security is another maladjustment of living in America. When Americans can legally own guns, but you can't own such weapons because of your status, do you feel unsafe? It's dark, there are no people on the road, street lamps are not as bright as in China, and cases of robbery and rape with knives and guns are often seen in newspapers. Do you feel uneasy because of such a living environment?
Some Americans flaunt that the United States is the country with the most diverse cultures, but just because there are many people with different cultural backgrounds does not mean that they get along well. The issue of racial discrimination has been hotly debated in the United States and cannot be ignored. Just like the social problems reflected in the story "I am from Xinjiang", the images of overseas students, Asians, Hispanics and African-Americans in the eyes of mainstream whites or other ethnic minorities in the United States are your impressions of Xinjiang people, foreigners, southerners and liberal arts students. If you ask yourself, how many times have you actively communicated with Xinjiang people this month? How many times did you walk away when you saw them? How many times have you met a colleague whose Mandarin is not standard, and had some biased psychological activities against this person? I thought about it. I've heard that "outsiders" come to rob us of our jobs, pollute our cities and have no quality ... In China, these "natural" ideas are what many Americans think of your children and friends. It is very unacceptable for most Han people, especially students from cities, to suddenly become "second-class citizens" in the United States.
Second, cultural differences.
"Depend on your parents at home and your friends when you go out". Who are the reliable friends of American students abroad? Many foreign students from China feel distressed because they are "trapped" in the student circle in China and cannot integrate into the social circle in the United States. Social success depends on many cultural identities and familiarity. For example, your American classmate told another joke today, and everyone laughed, but you don't know what Geico,% # @ is, and you don't understand it at all. Finally, you came up with a joke and finally finished it in broken English. You don't even find it funny. How much patience do Americans need to make friends through polite "Oh ~ ~"? Because your English is not so outstanding, you will often be interrupted, and others will talk about something else while you are talking. You go out to play with American friends and there are many unknown activities. What is this? What is that? Americans are lucky to have the patience to explain to you, but Americans pay more attention to the fluency of activities and the mood of most people. In the United States, if an American friend asks you about your life in China, you will probably be moved to tears. Americans are not as curious and enthusiastic about China as China is about Americans.
American food is really speechless unless you live in a big city, a real big city. The so-called average cities in the United States may not be as good as the third-tier cities in China. Besides, you have enough money to go out and eat delicious food that you can eat for very little money in China. Entertainment? Except for a few really big cities, the entertainment activities of most Americans are really flattering. You will find that Americans laugh very low and jump into the sky with excitement at every turn. Life must be so boring. A national college football match can mobilize the whole province to drive all the way to see it. Can you imagine this in China? Only the Olympic level is possible. There is no delicious restaurant to call friends, no business district to invite people you like to go shopping, a green space can be called a park, and there is no one in the park. Being a bar is like a domestic teahouse where uncles and aunts watch football matches, and it has nothing to do with the exciting word "nightclub". KTV can only stand in the middle of the bar and sing to the uncles and aunts in the whole bar. There is no one at night. Seeing the square dance aunts in China again, I really hope they can occupy the United States. People are social animals, and lively group activities will certainly ensure people's mental health!
Third, academic pressure.
Not to mention listening, speaking, reading and writing are all in English. When your life and social life are not satisfactory, perhaps the only last straw to comfort is your studies. And China people have always attached great importance to academic performance, not to say that it is not good. The bad thing is that academic performance is more important than personal healthy life. The expectations of tutors and parents may bring more pressure to international students. Due to the different cultural and educational background, some tutors think that you should know and we should not "know", so they will be misunderstood as incompetence, lack of responsibility and lack of progress. Many international students are afraid to tell their families when they encounter difficulties. It's futile to report good news instead of bad news, but they can't do anything. When they can't "succeed" academically, they are most afraid of facing their parents and their financial investment, so they are more likely to be pushed to the wall.
Fourth, emotional stress.
Studying abroad is an emotional seesaw process. When American students have economic income to support themselves, you can't find a job, and even struggle at the basic level of life, and your self-esteem is seriously challenged. You want to have your family around and take care of your parents or grandparents, but you feel guilty because you can't fulfill your obligation to study abroad. But there is no "success" and no good job abroad, which seems to be a kind of harm to parents. This fear of parents' disappointment challenges the sense of self-worth of international students more deeply. Therefore, studying abroad should be a prudent decision, not only economically, but also emotionally and spiritually. If international students really miss their families and want to take on family responsibilities and financial burdens, it is only because they have begun the normal process of becoming adults and should not be hung up like children. People who want to know international students should not use "as long as you study hard." "As long as you are studying, don't care about anything else." "Persistence is victory!" Respond with the words "failure is because of XXX, success is because of XXX", because without the above empathy for their experiences, this will not really relieve their pressure, and even catalyze the seriousness of the problem. When a person's spiritual life can't even eat rice and flour, it is cruel and irresponsible for a bystander who is eating fish to tell him that "you can't succeed without worrying about dross".
If you study in the United States, do you feel the above pressure? Today's article about the pressure of studying in the United States is to hope that everyone can clearly understand these problems and then find the most suitable solution for them, so as not to let their life and study in the United States be affected by these problems. Bian Xiao hopes that every student studying in the United States can keep a positive and optimistic attitude and treat every problem and pressure correctly. If you have any other questions about studying in the United States, please consult the online consultant of Tiandao Education, and we will serve you wholeheartedly.