Mutual experiences of studying abroad in the United Kingdom and the United States

I am relatively lucky. I was able to study at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom and Harvard University in the United States. It is really a great blessing in my life. Cambridge and Harvard are both world-class universities. It's hard to say who is better. In fact, Harvard University was founded by a group of scholars from Cambridge University. The place where Harvard University is located is also called Cambridge, which is exactly the same as Cambridge. However, it is often translated as Cambridge in China to distinguish it from Cambridge in the UK. When I first arrived at Harvard, I was chatting with my classmates. They talked about Cambridge every time, which confused me. I always thought they were talking about the British one.

Although the two have such origins, and the United Kingdom and the United States are both English-speaking countries founded by the Anglo-Saxon nation, the feelings of living and studying in the two places are actually very different. It’s hard to imagine it without Chinese people who have lived in the two places for a long time. The way of thinking and abilities cultivated by studying in two countries are also very different. It is necessary for students who want to apply to study abroad to understand these differences.

一

The British are famous for their gentlemanly demeanor all over the world. When you first come into contact with them, you will feel that they are polite, speak and behave very gracefully, and are very aristocratic. , the feeling of worship arises spontaneously. But after a long time of contact, you will find that behind this politeness, there is some arrogance and conservatism hidden. They treat everyone with the same etiquette and attitude, and it is difficult to have in-depth and honest communication. Even if you stay in the UK for a long time, it is difficult to integrate into their circle. In the UK, people from different cultural backgrounds prefer to stay within the small circle of their own country, and the integration between cultures is not close. British students go to bars to drink and party on weekends; Russian students go to Orthodox churches every weekend to worship; Chinese students gather to dine and play cards every weekend; French, Americans, Japanese, Koreans? Everyone has their own little circle. I have stayed in the UK for a long time and have hardly made any good foreign friends. The only people I hang out with every day are those few Chinese classmates.

At first, I thought the British and Americans were the same because they all spoke English. It was later discovered that this was not the case. When we were traveling to Scotland, we met an American guy who was traveling to the UK, and we invited him to eat the meal we cooked. He was very happy and started chatting with us. Speaking of the British, he said: Our governments are OK, but our people are quite different. The British and American governments always share their foreign policy, but the British and Americans actually despise each other. The British think Americans are uneducated, vulgar and degenerate, while Americans think the British are arrogant, conservative, cold and rigid.

When I arrived in the United States, I immediately felt this huge difference. Americans are very carefree, their movements are exaggerated when talking, and they are always passionate about people. Because there are not so many rules and politeness, it is easier to communicate. During Thanksgiving, our academic secretary, a West Point graduate and retired military officer, invited classmates from various countries to his home for dinner? This kind of thing is almost impossible to happen in the UK. His home is very large, like a palace, and the living room can accommodate 50 people for dining at the same time. We had a great time eating, and during the speech, he said: Welcome to the United States, but please don’t think of yourself as foreigners. There are no foreigners here. My grandfather is German, and I am of German descent; Professor XX is of Irish descent; Professor XX is Japanese, and our director is a mixture of grape and English? So in fact, everyone is the same, how far back does it go? Most people come from abroad. The United States is a country founded by immigrants. As long as you like it and are willing to live here, you are an American, and you can be a person from any other country at the same time.

I was very moved by these words. This is the magnanimity that a big country and its people can have. It is almost impossible to hear this kind of words in the UK? It is a country with conservative religious beliefs and a long historical heritage. Even social banquets must be done according to ancient traditions. In Cambridge, there are often large gatherings attended by students from all over the world, called Formal Hall, which translated into Chinese should be called formal dinners. Participants must wear formal attire. In some more open colleges, suits and ties can barely pass, but in some conservative colleges with a long history, such as Trinity College where Newton is located, suits are not acceptable. Formal clothing is Gown, which is black. Academic robe? The kind worn in the Harry Potter movies. Before eating, everyone stood up and prayed. The dean of the college said in Latin: "Thank you Lord for giving us food, Amen!" Everyone followed: "Amen!" and then sat down to eat. The meal is always a three-course meal: bread and aperitifs first, potatoes and steak next, and dessert at the end, one after another, replaced by the next. The tables at the dinner are in rows, not round tables, and you are not allowed to move around during the meal, so you can only chat with the people opposite and to the left and right, who you bump into, and you see beautiful women sitting two places apart. , and there is no way to go over and strike up a conversation. I thought it was quite fun at first, so I went to different colleges to eat at Formal Hall. After a few times, I felt that such a dinner party with too many rules was boring, so I didn't bother to go.

On weekends, traditional British people will strictly abide by Christian regulations on Sunday rest. In addition to small shops selling travel supplies (because they only have good business on weekends), banks and supermarkets throughout Cambridge , markets, etc. are all closed, and it is almost impossible to buy some daily necessities on Sunday. The most magical thing is Christmas. According to my experience in China, for such an important festival, there must be many people on the streets and many interesting programs. I have already discussed with my Chinese classmates to go shopping at night. Who would have thought that as soon as I went out, there wasn't even a shadow of a ghost, and it was surprisingly deserted. It turns out that the British people stay at home on Christmas Eve. The only place with people is the church. Everyone sits quietly and solemnly, without even coughing, listening to the people above reading the Bible in classical Latin. I've never seen that kind of serious atmosphere anywhere else. My classmates and I couldn't understand Latin, and we didn't dare to move around while sitting. We waited for two hours and then we were done, and then we ran away.

In contrast, in the United States, the streets are always crowded whether it is weekends or major holidays. Harvard's weekend dinners are much more informal than Formal Hall. The stone table on the large lawn in the middle of the Kennedy School is filled with all kinds of food, including beef, potatoes, fruits, and rice. You can pick it up by yourself with disposable tableware, and then sit casually on a stool or on the grass. Chatting in groups and enjoying the weekend sunshine? If you catch up with a grand festival, such as the annual Charles River Kayaking Competition (Head to Charles), then all kinds of food will be lined up along both sides of the Charles River. It's several hundred meters long, and most of them are free. You can watch the kayaking competition while eating various things. In this relaxed atmosphere, communication between people and the integration of cultures will become much easier.

Another more specific comparison is that American supermarkets have a wide variety of food, and it is easy to buy food that suits Chinese appetites. If you go to a Chinese supermarket, not only can you buy all domestic food, but it is also better than in the United States. Supermarkets are cheap; there are also many Chinese restaurants in the United States, and the prices are very reasonable. On the contrary, Chinese food is rarely available in general supermarkets in the UK, and the prices in specialized Chinese supermarkets are very high. The number of Chinese restaurants is relatively small and the prices are high. This has something to do with the relatively tolerant American culture: Americans will basically eat anything as long as it tastes delicious and do not reject Chinese food; while the British are more conservative, so Chinese food in the UK mainly depends on the Chinese group for consumption. There are very few places that sell these things, so the purchase costs will be relatively high if divided equally.

? In short, in terms of life, Americans’ living habits are closer to those of Chinese people: they prefer to enjoy a secular life, eat and drink, and don’t have so many rules. So if a typical British person, a typical American and a typical Chinese person are together, if they don't have many communication barriers in language, in most cases, you will find that the American will compare with the Chinese person able to talk to. Because of this, it is much easier for Chinese students to integrate into American society than it is to integrate into British society.

　二

It seems that I said a lot of bad things about the UK, while describing the life of studying abroad in the United States as extremely beautiful. In fact, if someone asks me, where do I prefer to miss studying and living? My answer would be a resounding yes: Cambridge, Cambridge, England.

Being conservative and rigid also has its benefits. Culture and history can be fully protected and preserved here. When I arrived in Cambridge, it happened to coincide with the 800th anniversary of the founding of Cambridge. The time was a bit dizzying. The streets and buildings from hundreds of years ago are very well preserved and basically unchanged. Trinity College, King's College, Queen's College? These colleges, which have been established for hundreds of years, retain their medieval architecture. They are magnificent and beautiful, and they are so beautiful that they cannot be described in words. When I first saw them, I was completely shocked. They are not preserved as cultural relics for people to visit, but are always in use. They are dormitories, classrooms, canteens for students, and residences and offices for teachers. There are modern water supply and power supply facilities, and the most cutting-edge science is taught, but people's living environment, learning methods, and teaching methods are still the same as they were hundreds of years ago. The thought that I would live and study in such a place was almost intoxicating. Xu Zhimo's "Farewell Cambridge" could only have been written in a place like this.

Due to the deep religious traditions and many rules, social activities are not as lively and attractive as in the United States, so here there is a bit more quiet and calm. Therefore, this is the most suitable place for a person to read, study and think quietly. The tallest and majestic building in every college must be a church to highlight the insignificance of human beings and the greatness of God. Those buildings and traditions that have remained unchanged for hundreds of years are always reminding people: you are just a passer-by in this world. Darwin, Newton, Cromwell, Keynes, Churchill? These people have all been here, seen the same scenery and walked through the same streets. No matter how pretentious a person is, he will feel awe and know how to be humble when he comes here. Reading and studying with this mentality will obviously make more progress than studying with arrogance.

Most of the various academic lectures held in Cambridge will focus on some eternal and abstract themes, such as religion and theology, even if they are political science and economics, which are closer to social life. The content of lectures will also tend to be abstract philosophical thinking or mathematical models. In short, they are absolutely incomprehensible to normal people, and they are far away from real society and real life. On the contrary, at Harvard, various lectures focus on popular topics, such as the war in the Middle East, the rise of China, the situation in North Korea, the US election, and the financial crisis. It is very lively. Even when lectures are given by famous professors, they usually cater to the tastes of the audience, try to make the lectures easy to understand, and occasionally intersperse a few jokes to win the applause of the whole room.

In the UK (actually the whole of Europe), its universities generally have a classical academic atmosphere, which places more emphasis on one person engaging in long-term abstract theoretical research alone. The United States, on the other hand, pays more attention to applying what they have learned and cares about the practical application value of knowledge. Many people know that Cambridge University is the school that has produced the most Nobel Prize winners in the world. Harvard and the almost equally famous Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) next to Harvard? Their status in the United States is roughly equivalent to China's Peking University and Tsinghua University. Together, they are not as large as Cambridge. When I went to Cambridge, someone from Trinity College happened to win the Nobel Prize. Since someone from Cambridge basically won the Nobel Prize every one or two years, everyone was not surprised and just posted it on the school’s homepage. A brief news item. The title of the winner is Dr., which is Doctor so-and-so. The title itself is very descriptive of the characteristics of Cambridge: conservative and traditional.

Because of the classical European university system, there is only one professor position for each major. As long as the professor does not retire or die, other people in the major will not be able to become professors no matter how powerful they are. Therefore, although this man who won the Nobel Prize has made great achievements, his title is Dr. So-and-so, not Professor So-and-so. Some people believe that this conservative approach has led to many outstanding talents being poached by American universities. Because no matter how high your level is in the UK, you may still be a lecturer. If the senior who occupies the professor's position pays attention to exercise and lives a long life, you may have no hope of replacing him no matter how hard you work in this life. And if you come to the United States, you can become a professor immediately. Although my supervisor at Cambridge is a doctoral supervisor, his title is still Dr.. Her colleagues in China once wanted to invite her to give lectures at a key university in China. The materials were submitted to the relevant departments of the school, but the application was not approved: the school stipulates that only professors from internationally renowned universities can be invited. She is only a lecturer and does not meet the requirements. If she wants to come Can I only pay for my own travel expenses, food and accommodation? According to this regulation, the previous Nobel Prize winner who wanted to give lectures in China could only pay out of his own pocket.

This system does seem rather old-fashioned and somewhat outdated. However, looking at it conversely, under this system, professor is only an honorary position (in some departments, professors also serve as department heads, so it is also an administrative position) and is not a standard for academic evaluation. Scientific research and teaching personnel in universities do not need to break their heads every day to figure out how to evaluate professional titles. The assessment standards for various professional titles seem to be important and reasonable. Just like our student exams, they can have the effect of urging teachers to study hard. However, truly important scientific discoveries may require a person's lifetime efforts. If he revolves around a few assessment indicators every year, it may be difficult for a person to make long-term plans, and many of his studies will inevitably be quick and easy. Like this model in the UK, a person can invest in a certain field for decades out of pure enthusiasm. There is no need to worry if there is no result in three to five years. In the end, he may study more deeply and do more. produce great research results.

The disadvantages of this system are also obvious: if a person lacks ambition and just wants to make a living, then due to the lack of rigid assessment standards, he will be content with the status quo and do nothing. When it comes to student training, the UK is also more relaxed than the US. There are basically no hard targets for doctoral research in British universities. The main task is for students to discuss it with their supervisors. Finally, they can obtain a doctorate by submitting a doctoral thesis and passing the defense. A doctorate degree in the UK usually lasts three years, and a master's degree only lasts one year. Excellent undergraduate students can directly apply for doctoral studies without having a master's degree. This has created a situation where some outstanding undergraduate students in China directly apply to study for doctoral degrees in the UK. Three years later, while his classmates had just graduated from master's degrees in China, he was already a doctorate from a prestigious British university. Saved a lot of time? Of course, it’s hard to say what the specific quality is. It may be of a very high level, or it may not be worthy of the name. The core concept of British education, in Chinese, is: the master leads the door, and the practice lies in the individual.

On the contrary, the doctoral training system in the United States is very strict. They believe more in the system than in subjective qualities such as personal interests, hobbies, ambition, and patience. A PhD usually takes five years to graduate. In the first two years, you need to systematically study the various courses of the major and pass the exams. Then you have to read hundreds of professional books designated by the major and take the doctoral thesis application examination, which includes both a written test and an interview. Only after you pass the exam can you start writing your doctoral thesis. Before passing the exam, your identity is "PhD student". After passing the exam, you can be called "PhD Candidate". It is common for many students who have difficulty passing the exam or whose doctoral thesis is not innovative enough to study for seven or eight years for a doctorate.

There are also a lot of people in the United States who can no longer continue their Ph.D. studies, have no prospects of graduation, and abandon their studies midway to look for jobs. As for master's degree training, the United States generally takes two years and is more stringent than the United Kingdom.

Therefore, the reason why I prefer Cambridge to Harvard is very personal: I am not very particular about my life. Although I don’t like rules and regulations, I am not afraid of living a stoic life in the UK. In terms of study, I hate too many assessment standards and like to study and think alone. Then, I like to be quiet, walk alone in the ancient and quiet campus and meditate, enjoy the feeling of pure learning while escaping from the world, and think about some messy things that are not so closely related to reality and not so utilitarian. There's no better place in the world to do something like this than Cambridge.

I think I have said enough, and I can make a simple summary: those who like to enjoy Chinese food and are not used to a simple life will probably like the United States; I hope that my knowledge can be learned as soon as possible Those who want to apply their knowledge and pay close attention to world affairs should also like the United States; those who like to be forced to study in various forms such as exams, otherwise they may become lazy, should also go to the United States; those who like interpersonal communication and like to get together when doing things, should also go to the United States. Go to America. Those who want to experience foreign culture and customs should prefer the UK, because the traditional Western culture there is more thoroughly preserved; those who like a quiet place to think and don’t want to be disturbed, and want to study some purely theoretical issues away from the hustle and bustle of the world, the UK Should be a better choice. Of course, none of this is absolute, it is just based on what I have seen and heard, and is for your reference only.