Another post on international students.

Normally I would ignore the kind of searches that lead people to my blogs.

But someone found my blog by searching "msu chinese go home." (Upon googling that myself, I found that I am on the second page of results.)

Okay, whoever found my blog using that site. I assume that it's also someone who either contributed or likes the racist twitter, MSU's Token Asian. (And you can link that yourself, there's no way that I'm giving that person hits from my blog).

First, go ahead and read my post on rooming with international students. You can replace "rooming" with "living," "going to class with" or "seeing on a daily basis." You don't have to be Chinese-American like me to make friends with international students (I'm going to go ahead and say Chinese students for the rest of the post, just because that's what led someone to my blog, and I have mostly made friends with international Chinese students). I promise. You just have to be a civil human being, willing to reach outside of your comfort zone and make friends of a different culture.

Let me first address a few stereotypes. This article addressed some of them, so I'll just use the ones that they said and put my own ideas on it.

"A Chinese student at Michigan State University finds his car spray-painted, the words reading "Go back home."

I learned about this in my anthropology class last semester. And it just made me so sad and so angry. In class, we assumed that the vandal chose the car because of the brand (it's really no secret that most of the Chinese students drive really nice cars: BMW, Mercedes, Volkswagen, Lexus.) But really? Jealousy doesn't look good on anyone. I really cannot find any other reason for a person to want to ruin a perfectly good car with paint, than because he (or she) was jealous of the car. There's always a yellow Camaro sitting in front of Hubbard and I drool and admire it, but really? Spray-painting it? And honestly, if they spent the time they used concocting a plot to spray paint the foreign cars (in Chinese letters) on studying, they wouldn't need to be vandals. Or jealous.

the pseudonym “haha,” disputed that the Twitter feed (MSU's Token Asian) was hostile -- “you guys confused making fun of [A]sians as being racist when it is not” – and suggested that the reported problems stem from the Asian students’ own self-segregation.  “Asian International students are SO innocent,” haha wrote. “They stick together and are too full of themselves to bother connecting with the non-international students at MSU. When you purposefully, separate yourself from the other students at the University[,] [w]hat do you expect? How about you guys stop being so rude and arrogant to the rest of us and let us talk to you, maybe do some language exchange, go out for coffee... or something!”

 Let's see... how to address this. Okay. Let's say that you (you being used in general, not you the reader... although if you were one of the people who thinks this way, feel free to think of it as YOU) go to France or Spain for a college program because you studied the language in high school, and only one of your friends went with you. You're both about the same proficiency at the language (which, let's face it, can't possibly be that good if you only studied two or three times a week for six years without using it in your daily life). Everyone there, even if they haven't known each other for very long, are fluent, native speakers with different customs than you. Who are you going to talk to?

If you're one of the people who are trying to be friendly and welcoming and get the very most out of a different culture, you'll try to be friends with the native students. But if you're unsure of the language, nervous, shy, then you'll probably try to stick with your friend from home.

It's the same with them. As for the rude and arrogant and "let us talk to you" part of the comment, I semi-addressed this in my other post. I mentioned how I had smiled at an international student who immediately looked away. After being offended for all of two seconds, and then willingly LISTENING to what other international students said, I learned that it was a culture difference. Just go up and talk to them!

There are already so many racist people in the world. I was walking around Holmes Hall a few months ago with a group of my friends (all Asian-American, born and raised in America), and a boy with a group of his friends started doing the "Gangnam style" dance as he passed us. Was this necessary? Did this do anything, other than stroke his ego? We were all so surprised that we didn't say anything to him.

But a month ago or so, my friend and I were walking around Hubbard caf. My friend moved to America from South Korea in 6th grade, so he's fluent in English and everything. He was wearing a shirt with the Paul Frank monkey on it which is really popular with international students, and this American domestic white idiot jock guy started speaking fake "Asian" to him (ching-chong, nee how, konnichiwa. And yes, I know that konnichiwa and ni hao are REAL words in Asian languages, but it's the sentiment behind them that people use that makes the difference) and he turned around and, in pretty good English (he still has an accent) was like "Are you talking to me?!," getting pissed because he'd had a bad day and the guy immediately backed off. So just don't do it. You'll end up being the one who looks like an idiot.

Anyways, I just hope that if you're reading this, then you can think back about your encounters with international students and realize that they're just here for an education, like you. I will mention that of course, there are some people who give international students a bad name. Just as there are some people who give the domestic students a bad name. But is it really necessary to try and "fix" this by vandalizing or insulting? I'm really hoping to be an OCAT aide next year, to be a part of the solution. But there are other ways to fix it. Introduce yourself to an international student, strike up a conversation. Attend programs that the MSU Office of Culture and Academic Transitions puts on (like their brilliant "OUR MSU" signs program.) Go to the MSU International Center's Coffee Hour, or Bridges International, both of which offer language exchange and the chance to talk to international students.

Rooming with an international student

Chances are, you might get an international student as a roommate. If you know nothing else about Michigan State, know that there are a TON of international students. Especially in Hubbard hall/East Neighborhood, where I live. My specific experience is with Chinese international students (who probably make up the greatest majority of international students).

Okay! So, my roommate is an international student from China. One thing that I have to say is that I went into this KNOWING what I was getting into, and with an open mind. I willingly changed rooms so that I could have an international student as my roommate, and it is such an amazing experience.

Something I should mention is that I'm an American-born Chinese, born and raised in America, but I've always been super interested in my culture and background. Since I've been here, I've made a few international friends and they're always really surprised that I know a lot about China and listen to Chinese music, because generally the attitude of so called "ABC" students is that of apathy (which is definitely the attitude that I've experienced first hand with a lot of my Chinese American friends).

Anyways! My roommate and my dorm experience has been FABULOUS. But like I said, I knew that I would be rooming with a foreign student. I know that when the roommate assignments came out (in the beginning of August), tons of people were really bummed and downright nasty that they would be "stuck" living with a foreign student. For different reasons! Here's some that I heard:

1. They won't speak English. (Actually, they HAVE to know English to come. It is obviously not perfect. But just imagine taking Spanish/Chinese/French/whatever language you learned in high school, then going to study abroad in a country that only spoke that. Plus, why else would they come here?)

2. They don't have a Facebook/twitter/instagram. (Okay, if they're Chinese international, there's a reason for that. Facebook and possibly Twitter are blocked in China. Just e-mail them and wait for a response. I actually use QQ, which is a popular Chinese instant messaging system, and so when I e-mailed my roommate for the first time I included my number for her to chat with me on there, since I figured that she wouldn't check e-mail a lot. It worked! Plus QQ has added features like a "facebook-esque" page, where users upload pictures of themselves.)

3. They'll be weird/different/strange. (There's a word for people like you: xenophobic. SUCK IT UP. College is a great time to get exposed to new cultures. Maybe your high school was completely small like mine (I was the only Asian, remember?), but now you're going off to college and then off to the real world. We already have enough racist people in the world, be a part of the change.) 

Some other rumors about international student (and this is dealing with them in general, not just living with them).

1. I knew a Chinese exchange student in high school and she was not talkative/prissy/spoiled. (I have heard these and definitely thought that before I went to college. Not talkative? She's probably unsure about her English. I'm studying Chinese and I try my hardest not to speak it to my roommate. Prissy/spoiled? This is one that maybe not a lot of domestic students have heard, but my ABC friends say it a lot. China has a one-child policy and so yes, some of the students can come from very rich, high-class families. Just be friendly.) 

2. I smiled and tried to be friendly but they just glared at me! (Okay uh, I don't know if other people say this. This is my own, though. In America, super common to smile at people. I grew up working in food service where smiling = tips, so I smile way too much. One day, I smiled at this girl because we made eye contact and she glared at me and turned the other way. I talked to both my mom (who moved here 10 years ago) and my roommate about this. They're a little colder in China, and usually don't smile as much. Even my mom was taken aback by the smiling when she came here. Plus, if you smile at them, then they might think that you want to correct them or that they said/did something wrong, which makes them shy. Don't take it personally (although sometimes I still do. Now I have a horrible problem of covering my mouth when I smile so they don't notice). 

3. They laugh/giggle when I talk to them! (Don't take it personally, they're probably just shy/unsure of their English again. Don't be judgmental and correct them on every other word.) 

Anything else? If you have questions, feel free to ask. But MSU has this fabulous program from the Office of Cultural and Academic Transitions office (OCAT), where there are Intercultural Aides in each building. I think it might be one every couple of floors? To be honest, I have never met the one who lives on my floor (her door is never open and she's never there...), but I have a few friends who are Intercultural Aides and they are super nice and ready and willing to help you if you're having any problems culturally.

Don't try to outcast or ignore international students, just because they're foreign. Their culture is just different than America's. Yes, they'll make mistakes when they write/speak, and maybe they'll do things that are acceptable in their culture but not here. Correct them gently, but only if you're in a position where you CAN (random person walking past is NOT acceptable). Get to know them! They're here to improve their English and to get an education.

So yes, this is something I feel strongly about. I love my roommate, and I'll be living with another international student next year (more on that another time...). I have met so many people who need attitude adjustments. It's college! If you have a closed mind, complement it with a closed mouth.