Why should I study in china?
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Is it easy to live and study in China?
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While I live and work at a Chinese public university, I have not studied here, rather I’ve been an ESL teacher, and now in administration.
Living in China can and does have challenges for a foreigner. This is virtually inevitable for a person going to any country with noticeably different cultural and societal norms.
How easy or hard this is has a huge amount to do with the attitude of the individual, and the nature of the people responsible for you while here.
I think the attitude of the individual is the single biggest factor; however.
The way you respond to things that happen strongly impacts how things turn out; in a society like China’s, where social harmony and face are the priorities in all interactions, a cooperative attitude and a genuine effort to learn and apply these principles, and earn some guanxi makes a huge different to one’s perceived and real experiences.
Bad things can happen regardless, of course. But a bad response from the individual will always result in exacerbating any situation.
It seems to be a constant of human psychology; the average period is about 90 days when an individual will reach the end of their honeymoon phase, start to notice the challenges and differences, and chose the pattern of response that will determine whether they adjust and adapt, or grow bitter and leave.
I see this over and over and over with new ESL teachers; I assume students go through the same.
ESL teachers have to learn to adapt to Chinese students. Their behavior is different, their responses can seem strange, and their expectations of how you will teach are probably significantly different to the foreign teacher’s ideas.
This probably extrapolates to foreign students. I would imagine they have different expectations placed on them, that they have some pressure to modify their behavior, and that the way their lessons are delivered and exams given and graded would be different also.
Most Chinese instructors are aware of these issues. Some will happily adjust their approach for foreign students, some will try but not really understand, and some will expect the foreign student to make all the changes.
There are so many possible variables. Schools are different, cities are different. The class you want to take can make a difference.
But whether the environment is objectively good or bad, the way the individual responds will be the largest single factor in determining “easy or hard”, and nowhere (in my limited experience) is that more true than in a land that values smooth social interaction.
And, it is the one thing that you can control.
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