Greetings from the USA! I landed at John F. Kennedy Airport as an 18-year-old Chinese student from the opposite side of the world, with three heavily packed suitcases, ready to enter a new world of unknowns. Though my heart was racing with anticipation, I soon realized that things would not go as smoothly as I had hoped. I was frustrated by the daunting struggles that arose at first. Conquering these challenges, however, has been rewarding in the end.

According to the latest Open Doors Report, the United States hosted nearly 400,000 East Asian international students in the 2022-2023 academic year, which make up 36% of all  international students. From navigating the maze of student visa requirements to communicating with American peers, first-year East Asian students find themselves on a transformative journey that can be as daunting as it is rewarding. These students aren’t just learners in a classroom, they are real adventurers, expanding their horizons and bridging Eastern and Western cultural gaps, and, quite often, wrestling with a host of obstacles along the way.

What inner struggles do East Asian students face, unbeknownst to those around them? 

Culture Shock

Culture shock refers to people feeling some degree of emotional disturbance when adapting to an unfamiliar cultural environment (Mumford, 1997). East Asian students often experience culture shock when studying abroad. Language barriers are the main source of cultural shock, which can generate anxiety. Lifestyle differences can also cause culture shock, as many East Asian students are not accustomed to the new diet of daily Western food, transportation, and academic schedule (Xia, 2020:338). 

The Challenge of Small Talk 

Small talk differs by culture. For example, when greeting each other, even for students who they don’t know well, US students often say, “Hi! How are you?” or “What’s up, bro?”. 

However, in China, only typically asks 你吃饭了吗？ Have you eaten? (Anon, 2022). In Japan, one might say 暑い(it’s hot) or 寒い( it’s cold), depending on the weather (Coslett, 2019). For Korean students, small talk is uncommon in their home country (Gobillykorean, 2022). So even the first step of getting to know someone is a challenge.

Different Structures

International students, such as East Asian students, face some pragmatic obstacles as well. One difference is in how things are measured (Buchholz et al., 2019). Most East Asian students are unfamiliar with imperial measurements like inches and feet, which are not used in most of the world (Haytova, 2020).  If American students ask about their height in feet and inches, some East Asian students may honestly reply that they only know their height in centimeters. However, this reply can be embarrassing, so they may estimate inaccurately in inches and reply to American students. As a result, domestic students may get the false impression that the student is lying about their height, creating an initially bad impression and mistrust (Chen, 2023). 

Navigating Asian American Stereotypes

College experiences in the U.S. provide a unique opportunity for East Asian students to be immersed in an ethnically diverse environment, where they can explore their own cultural identities (Milem, Umbach, and Liang, 2003). 

However, they often face American students’ stereotypes of Asian American international students as smart (e.g., naturally good at math and sciences”), hardworking or self-sufficient (e.g., “busy-bee” or “straight-A student”), and passive or obedient (e.g., never “rock a boat” or complaint) (Oyserman & Sakamoto 1997; Thompson & Kiang, 2010). 

Such stereotypes fail to recognize how diverse Asian American students are. Besides that, East Asian students also face more othering stereotypes such as being presumed to be “fresh off the boat, hard to comprehend, and weird” (Yeo et al. 2019:53) . 

Coping and Learning to Thrive Abroad

Coping with these struggles can be daunting, but most East Asian students also find the cultural adaptation process exhilarating. If you are an East Asian student, please give yourself some time, take care of yourself, be open-minded, speak up to break down stereotypes, and don’t be afraid to seek professional support on college campuses if needed.

References

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Buchholz, Katharina and Felix Richter. 2019. “Infographic: Only Three Countries in the World (Officially) Still Use the Imperial System.” Statista Daily Data. Retrieved March 10, 2024 (https://www.statista.com/chart/18300/countries-using-the-metric-or-the-imperial-system/). 

Kiger, Patrick J. 2021a. “Why Does the U.S. Use Fahrenheit Instead of Celsius?” HowStuffWorks Science. Retrieved March 9, 2024 (https://science.howstuffworks.com/nature/climate-weather/atmospheric/us-use-fahrenheit.htm).

World Population Review.2024. “Countries That Use Fahrenheit 2024.” Worldpopulationreview.com. Retrieved March 30, 2024 (https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/countries-that-use-fahrenheit).

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Chen, Xunyu, Xinran Wang, Lee Spitzley, and Jay Nunamaker. 2023. “Trust and Deception with High Stakes: Evidence from the Friend or Foe Dataset.” Decision Support Systems 173(113997):113997. doi: 10.1016/j.dss.2023.113997.

Haytova, Nikol. 2020. “Inching Our Way into the Peculiarities of Asian Systems of Measurement.” Pulse of Asia. Retrieved March 30, 2024 (https://www.1stopasia.com/blog/inching-our-way-into-the-peculiarities-of-asian-systems-of-measurement/).

Coslett, Matthew. 2019. “How to Make Small Talk in Japanese.” GaijinPot Blog. Retrieved March 30, 2024 (https://blog.gaijinpot.com/how-to-make-small-talk-in-japanese/). 

Milem, Jeffrey F., Paul D. Umbach, and Christopher T. H. Liang. 2004. “Exploring the Perpetuation Hypothesis: The Role of Colleges and Universities in Desegregating Society.” Journal of College Student Development 45(6):688–700. doi: 10.1353/csd.2004.0070.

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Yeo, Hyejin Tina, Ruby Mendenhall, Stacy Anne Harwood, and Margaret Browne Huntt. 2019. “Asian International Student and Asian American Student: Mistaken Identity and Racial Microaggressions.” Journal of International Students 9(1):39–65. doi: 10.32674/jis.v9i1.278.

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