This is a great question and I admire you for being brave enough to ask it. The truth is, it is not easy to fit into American society as a foreign student. There are many reasons for this. For example, America is a country full of immigrants, so many people look very different (Asian, Hispanic, Middle Eastern, etc.) so when Americans see you on campus or at the store, they will probably assume you're just an American and you don't need any special help or attention, but you do! When I travel to China or some other country in Asia or the Middle East, I stand out and people know that I'm a foreigner and I might be a little confused or lost or lonely, so nice people will reach out to me and help me fit into society or help me learn how to adapt. But you will not stand out in America, especially not in San Francisco which has a large Asian population.
4 n v2 [6 h4 T9 d9 S! OBut the other reason it's hard to fit in as a foreign student is because America doesn't have a long tradition of welcoming visitors to their country like China does. In China, it is part of the ancient culture to welcome visitors and assist them if they need help. But sadly, we don't have that, and we are pretty independent-minded, so we assume everyone can figure things out for themselves.
3 U0 ]: E; W3 v8 J! l0 dHowever, Americans are also very friendly and welcoming to foreigners. If you do speak up and ask for help or ask to be introduced to more people, people will help you and they will respect you for speaking up. So, you really have to learn to be bold in America. Introduce yourself to people you don't know at school, show your vulnerability and explain to them that you'd really like some help making friends and learning how to fit in. If you do this, Americans should help you. If they don't, you can personally message me and tell me what the problem is and I'll give you some advice or help you fix the problem.
5 b, e+ _ O5 W/ f7 A. I# W4 nBelow are three links to resources I created to help students in your position. I hope they can help you. If you still need help or if you need help applying for universities in the future, you can add me on WeChat: DanCWU! N h2 K6 u4 \& _3 k' N
1) https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/63006092
# j( b6 `4 U0 x L' R2) https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/349889692 \% t/ M0 U' O" d# @8 y
3) https://www.zhihu.com/zvideo/1337960330434703360 |