Dear fellow students,

    In this article, I would like to focus on the importance of narrowing the cultural gap as a Chinese boarder in an English school.

    It is inevitable that Chinese students, similar to me, will carry Chinese customs and heritage to their new school. I have enjoyed sharing many of my Chinese customs, celebrations and cultural differences with my peers as I believe it is valuable to keep one’s Chinese pride no matter where one goes.

    However, when you are in an overseas environment, it is important that you do not live wholly in a Chinese-cultured world, ignoring the environment around you. One can easily find oneself isolated from the local culture as a consequence.

    There is a Cantonese girl in my year called Lily who is always boiling soup and cooking curry in her room. She is from Hong Kong and as we know, boiling soup is one of the many everyday Chinese activities, thus we do not find it out of the ordinary. However what Lily does not take notice is that some of the ingredients she uses to make her soup emit smells unfamiliar to her English peers, many of whom do not find such smells appealing.

    Fortunately, her peers are kind enough not to complain, as they are cautious not to upset her. But her roommates certainly do not like their room smelling of Chinese soup throughout the day.

    As well as the soup, Lily spends a great deal of time watching online Chinese television series. Her roommates do not understand the language in her Chinese soaps, and therefore cannot join her when she is watching the shows. As a result, her roommates spend little time with her as they feel disconnected from her and her world.

    Another good piece of advice would be to avoid speaking Chinese when communicating with other Chinese students in a public area. It is regarded as a form of impoliteness to speak another language other than English when you are surrounded by your English peers — other students are not able to understand what you are saying.

    With the increasing intake of Chinese students in many schools in the United Kingdom, the Chinese student body can be large. Sometimes these schools have such a large Chinese population that they almost turn into a Chinese campus. For local students, this acts as a social trap. Flying all the way to a Western country to attend school would be put to waste if you were to miss out on the local benefits and cultural contrasts.

    By living in your own Chinese social circle, you may find yourself shut out from the mainstream student body.

    Yours fondly,

    Susan M B Chen

    Year 13 student at Downe House School