Ask about your experience of studying and living in the UK

For every student studying abroad, the experience of studying abroad is unforgettable for international students. For this reason, international students will choose to record their studying abroad experience. Let’s take a look at my study abroad experience in the UK. life experience.

Chinese or foreigners? Who do you live with?

One of the purposes of studying abroad is to practice fluent foreign languages, so when choosing roommates, foreigners are the most ideal "cohabitants"! Presumably every prospective international student has been told this lesson countless times by people around him before going abroad.

Is a foreigner the most ideal cohabitation partner? Is this really the case? After listening to what happened to my classmate Lisa, you will have the answer in your mind.

Lisa is a girl from southern China. In addition to being good at cooking delicious and authentic Chinese food, Lisa also likes to cook delicious soups for her skin care. However, the British girl who lives with her thinks that Lisa spends too much time in the public kitchen, which affects her life.

In this regard, Lisa is full of grievances: Every time she cooks, she is very careful to avoid the peak hours when others use the kitchen. Why does it cause dissatisfaction among her roommates?

I believe that what happened to Lisa is definitely not an isolated case. Living with a foreigner means you have a foreign language partner virtually, but conflicts caused by cultural differences are also unavoidable in daily life.

Imagine that when you and your roommate are facing each other coldly every day, can you still chat with your roommate to improve your speaking level as planned? Living together is not as romantic and comfortable as some overseas study forum posts make it seem. If the whole day is accompanied by cold wars and quarrels caused by various trivial matters, do you still look forward to the days of living together with foreigners?

Of course, if you have made up your mind to meet this challenge, I believe it will be helpful for you to get along with your roommates harmoniously by understanding the following points in advance:

First of all, be implicit with China Their philosophies on life are different. The thinking of foreigners is sometimes so direct that it makes people laugh or cry, which is reflected in their tempers that are more "aggressive". Especially when dealing with young people, if you do something that foreigners don't like, they will usually tell you directly.

For Chinese people who are used to expressing their displeasure in euphemistic ways, sometimes this can indeed be a huge blow. In fact, as long as you understand the cultural characteristics of foreigners in advance and make sufficient mental preparations, you will not be troubled by bad emotions for a long time when faced with their "just say something."

Secondly, foreign food is mainly cold food, and the cooking time is generally not long. Especially college students prefer fast-food semi-finished products. However, Chinese students are accustomed to frying and frying, so they spend a relatively long time in the kitchen.

It is natural for people to cook a meal of hometown food in a foreign country to comfort themselves from homesickness. You can introduce the characteristics of Chinese food to your foreign roommates in advance to let them understand that you use the kitchen longer than them and you do not mean to occupy more public resources.

Furthermore, I agree with you taking the initiative to show friendship to foreigners, but don’t take it for granted that they should buy it. This starts with the popular experience in China. It is estimated that many prospective international students have heard about foreigners’ love for Chinese food and make some special foods such as Chinese dumplings for foreigners to taste.

The strategy of connecting emotions is regarded as a classic tactic by many people. Therefore, when many students first arrive, they will share the Chinese food they cooked with their foreign classmates in order to gain understanding. Practice has proved that this strategy is not as magical as the legend says, and the effect is not as good as expected.

Your foreign roommate may find Chinese food delicious, thank you for your kindness. But in their view, there is no connection between sharing delicious food and agreeing to use the kitchen frequently. As for "eating people with short tongues and talking about favors", they don't have this string in their minds.

In addition, not all foreigners appreciate Chinese food. They may reject the food you send. Don’t feel shocked at this time. You can understand it by referring to their attitude towards Chinese medicine. Many foreigners think that Chinese medicine is a witch doctor. How can grass roots, leaves and various weird bugs cure diseases?

When this happens, just laugh it off. The interesting thing about the world is that people are so different from each other that we can create wonderful civilizations. Otherwise, why would we go all the way to a foreign land to broaden our horizons? Remember, tolerance and tolerance are always powerful tools in dealing with cultural differences.

Tips: It is recommended that girls and boys who are not mentally strong enough should find a compatriot to live with. Although it will reduce the chances of speaking foreign languages, when you first arrive and have a roommate who is as accustomed to cooking rice and cooking as you are, you will feel less lonely and uncomfortable.

What’s more, if you are determined to improve your language skills, not having a foreign roommate is definitely not a problem.

Who said there is no Chinese voice in the classroom?

The widely circulated image of Chinese students abroad is that they want to be invisible in class and rely solely on studying to get high scores - they are conservative and obedient, but they never have a clear-cut point of view. However, during my studies, this understanding was completely overturned.

The Department of Politics of the University of Sheffield ranks third in the UK, second only to the University of Cambridge and the London School of Economics. Therefore, it not only attracts outstanding students from the UK, but also students from universities in the European Union, the United States and other places. The elite also gather here.

Therefore, whenever the Department of Politics discusses political topics in class, the atmosphere will be extremely heated. However, in such an environment where experts can be called a forest, the Chinese students in the classroom did not act as invisible people, but actively participated in the debate and bravely expressed their views.

Chinese young people have the courage to express their temperament and style, because they have their own unique religious culture. With the rise of China, the probability of China being mentioned in political classes is almost 100%. In one class, a Japanese student suddenly mentioned the issue of Tibetan independence and believed that Tibet should be treated as an independent country.

At this time, Lee, a Chinese boy from Beijing, stood up. Based on Tibet's historical heritage, current social reality, and my country's current religious freedom and minority policies, he righteously refuted the Japanese students' view that "Tibet should be independent."

Although Lee’s English was not fluent in the expression process and his arguments were not watertight, I believe that every Chinese young person will feel very proud because this is what the new generation of China faces in international situations. An unyielding response to the issue of national dignity!

After class, while talking with students majoring in human resources management, international cultural exchange and other majors, I found that Chinese students born after 1985 are more independent-minded. They are not willing to study silently, but make Chinese voices heard in communication!

Tips: Only when you go abroad can you truly feel what your motherland means to you, and always remember that representing China is not just a slogan. It is recommended that every prospective international student take the initiative to care about national affairs and solidly learn historical and political knowledge while in China.

Only by arming yourself with your own opinions and improving your knowledge base can you convince others with your reasoning when encountering the above-mentioned things and safeguard the dignity of your motherland and yourself on the international stage!

Part-time job or party?

Open the blogs of some Chinese students studying abroad. Their lives are so exciting! There are all kinds of wonderful parties and social gatherings, a full schedule of shopping activities, a busy and fulfilling travel schedule... But I need to remind all viewers that what you see is only a one-sided image of studying abroad.

Studying abroad is not a vacation abroad. More international students have a plan to "clean the dishes" before going abroad. They either want to reduce the financial pressure on their parents, or they want to exercise their own survival skills, or they want to have a deeper understanding of the local customs.

But I think every international student who works needs to think clearly about one question, that is, what do you want to get from working?

Working, even part-time, will take up your time. Are you able to balance your study and work? If your courses are very stressful and require a lot of spare time to complete your study progress, then working part-time is not a good option.

After all, your parents didn’t invest a lot of money in you to study abroad just for you to clean the dishes. As for those gatherings, all I can say is, do as the Romans do, but don't think that more is better.

In fact, since 2008, the global economic crisis has intensified, and the unemployment rate in the UK has reached new highs. It has become difficult for international students to find a part-time job. According to my observation, becoming a volunteer or volunteer is a good choice.

While studying abroad, I participated in volunteer activities at the Sheffield Weekend Center. This center is a charitable organization affiliated with the church. It mainly uses the money donated to the church to help the homeless in Sheffield, providing them with lunch and a dedicated venue for rest, entertainment and communication activities every weekend.

As an international volunteer, I am involved in almost every position, from pouring coffee at the water bar, distributing food, chatting with homeless people, to setting up the venue and cleaning up afterward.

Because the main force of volunteers are local college students and the personnel are mobile, during my volunteering period, I came into contact with peers from many countries such as the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Russia, and Nigeria.

When we work and chat together, we not only increase our knowledge and practice our English expression skills, but also gain a deeper understanding of each other's cultures through communication. In addition, I will also observe how such activities are organized in the UK and what are the differences in procedures and rules compared to those in China...

These discoveries and insights make every participant feel happy and surprised , have a sense of accomplishment. Such charitable organizations, especially those affiliated with churches, exist in almost every city, village, and town in the UK.

Compared with part-time jobs, becoming a volunteer has more opportunities and more flexible time. It is also more suitable for students who want to get closer to the local society while studying. And when you dedicate your love to those in need, you will also feel happy and valuable.

This also has a positive effect on the mental health of students studying alone in a foreign country. Although we have talked about British students countless times, we will always experience different lives. Therefore, international students should pay more attention to the study abroad life of British students to make our study life in the UK more fulfilling.