I believe culture
adaptation is noticed by many universities because of the increasing of
international students. Our university holds many activities every semester for
international students to get accustomed to new environment, such as "On
Iowa," "culture ball," "speeding friends,"
"Tippie Buddies," etc. I attended some of them and they were very
interesting. Most of them paired students in groups or pairs with mixing of
students from America and other countries. I made several American friends in
these activities and we had a good time. During the events, we talked a lot
about our own culture and shared our hobbies. Then we had each other's
contacting information and planned to hangout after the events. We went out
several times for lunch and dinner, and also sent our best wishes on festivals.
But after a while, we rarely texted each other about our live, and I have heard
nothing from them for a long time. Maybe we all had a busy time and our own
things to do, but this is not an excuse among good friends. So, I assumed,
unfortunately, we were still not "good" friends. Sometimes I would
think of them, but didn't know how to start a new talk. And I hesitate when I
tried to type something, such as "Will that be weird?" or "Will
he be interested in what I talk?" I am not sure if he feels the same way,
but I guess this could be a reason.
All of these events were
great, but the problem was few of students would keep in touch after the events
ended. After all, among my Chinese friends, only one or two can keep good
relationships with their American buddies. I believe people paired were willing
to keep a long-term friendship but they just don't know how to do that. What
matters most is the knowledge and interest of other's culture. I believe a good
friendship should be based on a constant interest and enough knowledge about
each other's culture. Because people won't get bored or feel embarrassed when
they ask questions and learn new things. For some topics, such as democracy,
speech freedom, LGBTQ, I almost had no idea at the beginning and I didn't know
what Americans usually thought about them. And because of some reasons
(political), there were a big difference between what I knew and what my
American friends knew. I couldn't access lots of information through the
internet from the US before I came here. I read news from different source. I
watched movies with Chinese sub-tittles and deleting clips. I played
none-official (pirate version) games because game selling used to be illegal in
China. I only knew a little about popular American TV series and popular
singer. And for music, although I listen a lot, my knowledge about singers and
the stories behind were poor. These could make communication hard. Thus, I
suggest an event talking about hot topics in different fields around the
country. They can include fashion, politics, history, art, sport, entertainment
but not limit to these. American students can be divided into groups by
different topics which they would like to introduce, and international students
can go to any one they are interested in. And for some "making
friends" events we already had so far, there should be some specific
surveys for students to take before they attend. For instance, there can be
questions including what they want to get from the events, if they are willing
to be long-term friends, and how interested they are in other cultures. These
questions can help them make sure about what they want to do in the events and
encourage them to keep on going even after the events ends.
Moreover, language is
also a major fact. As international students, we have learned English a lot.
However, we still meet "language barrier" sometimes. For example,
when I first arrived here, I didn't know how to reply when people said "thanks"
or "sorry" in a casual way. Because what I learned in China was very
formal and people wouldn't use them in their daily life. I noticed there were
many simplified expressions used in Americans daily life. They are simple,
fast, and easy to use. But I only knew a few of them. Sometimes I felt I talked
a lot but I didn't give a clear idea about what I want to say. Therefore, it's
necessary to have some events to teach international students some simple and
frequently used expressions to help them learning fast in daily
communications. Also, there can be a short seminar talking about American popular culture and how American teenagers deal with their friends. Students can be asked to create a skit showing the situations of discussing different topics with their American friends, and check what they would say in real talk. This can be a little intentional, but I think it can be a good way to learn at beginning. After they have a clearer concept, they can learn more and faster in their daily life.
Our university's international program is really good now and I hope it can become better. Every years' events are very helpful and interesting. Next semester I will try to participate more events and make new friends. And I will try to contact my old friends to see if they still remember me.
