留學(xué)生活面面觀：不只是求學(xué)而已

導(dǎo)讀：提到出國(guó)留學(xué)，很多人首先想到的是拿到洋文憑，然后回國(guó)拿高薪。其實(shí)，留學(xué)的價(jià)值不僅僅只是讀書(shū)那么簡(jiǎn)單，它更像是一次融入全新文化環(huán)境的華麗冒險(xiǎn)。

Many Chinese students like studying commerce and economics when pursuing a foreign degree. According to the Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange, one third of Chinese students studying abroad in 2013 were enrolled in business schools. On many campuses, especially in English-speaking countries, the majority of the international student community is Chinese. However, the issue of conformity among Chinese overseas students does not stop at choosing majors. Chinese students’ different lifestyles and eating habits also drive them to form their own communities; their different attitude toward studying abroad influences their choice of universities; and China’s rising economic power means many of them choose to pursue business degrees.

很多中國(guó)學(xué)生在留學(xué)時(shí)往往傾向于選擇商貿(mào)專業(yè)。據(jù)中國(guó)留學(xué)服務(wù)中心發(fā)布的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，2013年有三分之一的中國(guó)留學(xué)生選擇國(guó)外商學(xué)院。在很多大學(xué)，尤其是那些說(shuō)英語(yǔ)的國(guó)家的大學(xué)，中國(guó)學(xué)生成為留學(xué)生的主力軍。然而，中國(guó)留學(xué)生“扎堆兒”現(xiàn)象不僅體現(xiàn)在專業(yè)選擇上。不同的生活方式和飲食習(xí)慣使他們形成了自己的群體;而他們不同的留學(xué)觀還會(huì)影響他們擇校。中國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)實(shí)力的崛起也成為許多留學(xué)生選擇商科的原因。

21st Century interviewed students and experts in top overseas study destinations in the US to explore how conformity influences Chinese students behavior while abroad and shapes their study experience.

為探尋留學(xué)生“扎堆兒”現(xiàn)象對(duì)中國(guó)留學(xué)生行為以及求學(xué)經(jīng)歷的影響，《21世紀(jì)英文報(bào)》特別采訪了多位來(lái)自美國(guó)名校的中國(guó)留學(xué)生和專家。

Time abroad not just about studying

海外留學(xué)不僅僅是求學(xué)那么簡(jiǎn)單

Lu Hong, 21, an economics major at the University of Southern California, is happy about pursuing his master’s degree 10,000 kilometers away from home.

21歲的陸鴻(音譯)在美國(guó)南加州大學(xué)主修經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)，能夠來(lái)到離家1萬(wàn)公里遠(yuǎn)的美國(guó)讀研，他表示很開(kāi)心。

He has made new friends in various societies organized by Chinese students, knows all the best Chinese restaurants in the local area, and can even download translated versions of the reading materials from an online sharing website.

他在中國(guó)學(xué)生創(chuàng)辦的各色社團(tuán)中結(jié)識(shí)新朋友，對(duì)當(dāng)?shù)刈畹氐赖闹胁宛^了如指掌，甚至可以從在線分享網(wǎng)站下載譯文版的閱讀材料。

“I feel very secure and very efficient in both my personal and study life,” said Lu.

陸鴻說(shuō)：“無(wú)論是個(gè)人生活還是學(xué)業(yè)，我都覺(jué)得很有安全感、很高效。”

To an extent, he should feel at home. With one of the largest Chinese student bodies on campus, the University of Southern California has 3,771 students from China among its total population of 9,840 international students in 2013 (the figures for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Purdue University are even higher).

在某種程度上，他覺(jué)得就像在家一樣。作為中國(guó)留學(xué)生人數(shù)最多的學(xué)校之一，2013年南加州大學(xué)共有9840名留學(xué)生，其中中國(guó)留學(xué)生人數(shù)達(dá)到3771名(伊利諾伊大學(xué)香檳分校和普渡大學(xué)的這一數(shù)字甚至更高)。

For many students, a Chinese-compatible student community is an important consideration when applying for study abroad programs, according to Chen Xia, a senior consultant at a Beijing-based study abroad agency.

來(lái)自北京某留學(xué)機(jī)構(gòu)的資深顧問(wèn)陳霞(音譯)表示，是否具備對(duì)中國(guó)學(xué)生開(kāi)放包容的社團(tuán)組織成為許多學(xué)生申請(qǐng)留學(xué)時(shí)的一個(gè)重要考慮事項(xiàng)。

“For safety, lifestyle, and study reasons, both students and parents tend to choose universities with a large Chinese student population,” said Chen. “California has the US’ biggest Chinese population, which makes it attractive for Chinese students.”

“出于安全性、生活習(xí)慣以及學(xué)業(yè)方面的考慮，學(xué)生和家長(zhǎng)都傾向于選擇中國(guó)留學(xué)生較多的學(xué)校，”陳霞說(shuō)。“在美國(guó)，加利福尼亞是華人人口數(shù)量最多的地區(qū)，因此對(duì)中國(guó)學(xué)生更具吸引力。”

It’s not that an environment that is less likely to cause culture shock is a bad thing.

一個(gè)文化沖突可能性較弱的環(huán)境并非壞事。

But Dayle Smith, former associate dean of the business school at the University of San Francisco, said that Chinese students should get out of their comfort zone to get more exposure to local and international culture in their social and study life.

然而，原舊金山大學(xué)商學(xué)院副院長(zhǎng)黛爾•史密斯表示，中國(guó)留學(xué)生應(yīng)該走出自己的舒適圈，在求學(xué)和社交方面進(jìn)一步融入到本土和國(guó)際文化之中。

“While the presence of Chinese students on campus is a valuable asset for the university, some of them seem not to be ready in terms of their survival, social, and academic English skills,” said Smith.

史密斯還說(shuō)：“對(duì)大學(xué)而言，中國(guó)留學(xué)生的確帶來(lái)了一筆寶貴財(cái)富，但他們中的一些人似乎在生活、社交及專業(yè)英語(yǔ)技能方面并沒(méi)有做好準(zhǔn)備。”

According to Smith, the value of studying abroad is not limited to following courses. It’s a comprehensive experience of adapting to a new environment in order to expand horizons and acquire a new set of skills.

史密斯表示，留學(xué)的價(jià)值不僅僅是學(xué)習(xí)，而是一次適應(yīng)新環(huán)境的全方位體驗(yàn)，并在這個(gè)過(guò)程中開(kāi)拓視野、學(xué)習(xí)新技能。

Following a different path

留學(xué)切勿隨波逐流

Different from her compatriot Lu, Wang Linna, 22, chose to apply to a liberal arts school in Nebraska, US.

和陸鴻不同，22歲的王琳娜(音譯)申請(qǐng)的是美國(guó)內(nèi)布拉斯加一所文科大學(xué)。

“I applied for a literature degree, which is a less common choice,” said Wang. “I think studying abroad is more about having an adventure than following courses. So I want to go somewhere special to avoid people who share my cultural background.”

“我申請(qǐng)了相當(dāng)冷門(mén)的文科，”王琳娜說(shuō)。“我認(rèn)為出國(guó)留學(xué)不僅僅是埋頭苦讀而已，它更像是一場(chǎng)冒險(xiǎn)。所以我要去一個(gè)特別的地方，遠(yuǎn)離那些和我擁有相同文化背景的人。”

According to Xinquan Overseas Education’s survey of 12,000 students applying for US institutions in 2013, Wang’s approach is gaining popularity with Chinese students.

據(jù)鑫泉留學(xué)調(diào)查顯示，在2013年申請(qǐng)美國(guó)院校的1.2萬(wàn)名學(xué)生中，很多人都與王琳娜的想法不謀而合。

More and more of them are choosing less pragmatic majors, such as business, and going for such fields as arts, literature, or philosophy in less high-profile destinations.

越來(lái)越多的中國(guó)留學(xué)生放棄商科這樣的高實(shí)用性專業(yè)，轉(zhuǎn)投一些冷門(mén)院校的藝術(shù)、文學(xué)及哲學(xué)等專業(yè)。

“For arts and literature, there was a 6 percent and 9 percent spike, while applications for other majors all experienced a decline in 2013,” said the agency’s report, which was released recently.

該留學(xué)機(jī)構(gòu)最新發(fā)布的數(shù)據(jù)顯示：“2013年，在其他專業(yè)申請(qǐng)人數(shù)紛紛縮水的情況下，藝術(shù)和文學(xué)專業(yè)的申請(qǐng)人數(shù)分別上漲了6%和9%。”