International Students Relations with American Students

International Students Relations And Friendships With American Students

American universities and colleges continue to attract large numbers of students from the international community. The University of Michigan did report that on average they receive more than five hundred students from China only (Budianto, 47). This is a clear indicator of the fact that there are many international students in the United States. However, despite the expectations international students feel alienated from the rest of the community. Integrating themselves with the American students becomes difficult because of cultural differences, and ideological differences between them. International students from countries that speak English find it relatively simpler to find American friends than those from Far East (Seltliz, 81). Western Europe students find the culture of United States similar to that of their home country hence the ease of integration. However, in overall, International students have less American friends.

College should be the place that an individual meets most of their friends and develop lasting relationships. This is, however, not the case for international students studying in the United States. A recent publication by Michigan State University is an indicator of the rejection that international students in American experience. International students especially those that come from countries such China and the Far East have difficulties trying to integrate into the American society (Budianto 40). Chinese students, studies reveal, indicate large dissatisfaction than other students from other parts of the world. This trend has the meaning that students coming from such regions feel alienated from others and prefer forming friendships with persons from their home country (Lucas 21). On the other hand, students from English speaking areas such as Western Europe have an easy time creating connections with their American peers in comparison to those from Asia.

Cultural differences are one of the contributors to the difficult of obtaining America friends if an individual is from Asia countries. In most cases, countries from these regions will only value deep relationships and in accordance, they will find friendship in the American setting to be superficial. This means that they would rather form friendships with individuals from their home country rather than Americans (Budianto, 47). Kansas State University published a newspaper column claiming that Chinese students were potential enemies. In their arguments, they claimed that students from China and other countries that have unfriendly policies towards America should not study in American Public universities and colleges (Seltliz, 81). This is an indicator that Chinese International students will find difficulty in establishing relationships with American students. For students coming from countries that speak English, the story is different because of cultural compatibility with America. That is why students from countries such as England will not have much difficulty in fostering relationships with their counterparts from America.

Many International students leave their home country with a beacon of hope that America will provide them with the opportunity that they desire (Seltliz 53). Unknown to them, on arrival to the United States they realize that their culture differences will lead to their alienation from the university community. This is because of the fact that international students in the United States have difficulty in obtaining American friends. Despite the fact that, this observation apples to all international students, students from China and the Far East are more vulnerable relative to those from other regions. The reason for this observation is ideological and cultural differences between the two. In accordance, American colleges should have programs that promote integration into the society.

Work Cited

Budianto, Lina. Chinese International Students’ and its Relationship to Acculturative Stress and Well-Being. New York: BiblioBazzar, 2012.

Seltliz, Claire. Attitudes and Social relations of foreign students in the United States. Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press, 2012.

Lucas, Christopher. International Students in American Colleges and Universities. London: Macmillan, 2007.

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