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Running head: EXPLORING CULTURE ESSAY

Exploring Culture Essay

Steven Klein
University of Kentucky

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Exploring Culture Essay

For this essay, I decided to focus on the topic of international students from abroad
countries that come to the United States for their higher education. I interviewed two students,
one who is from India, and one who is from Hong Kong, China. In this essay I hope to establish
the stereotypes that are placed on international students that are studying in the United States. I
also want to use sources that demonstrate whether those stereotypes are true, or false. Everyone
has a perception of others. And sometimes that perception is wrong (it usually is).
The perception that I had of international students before conducting two interviews with
actual international students, and then researching this topic was a negative one. I hate to say it
but I am sure that there are other people of my demographic that agree with me. Before
researching about international students, I believed that international students were a lot smarter
than an average American high school graduate student, just because they were born Indian or
Chinese. I say this just because of the stereotype that has been inflicted on students from India,
and China, and most of the other countries around that region.
Rachael Ruble and Yan Zhang in their article called The Impact of Stereotypes on
American Students Willingness to Communicate with Chinese International Students
write
about how at United States colleges and universities, Chinese students are the largest group of
students originating from a particular nation (Ruble and Zhang 2012). However, many Chinese
international students report difficulties with stress and adaptation, often as a result of perceived
cultural differences and lack of support from others (Ruble and Zhang 2012). A 2002 study in
the International Journal of Intercultural Relations examined the feelings that American students
had towards international students. Overall, Americans had little contact with international

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students, which led to stereotypical attitudes that were overwhelmingly negative in nature.
However, those students who did have close contact with international students had an overall
positive attitude about them and were less likely to attribute negative stereotypes to the
international students (Ruble and Zhang 2012).
The research that was conducted as stated above demonstrates how Americans place
negative stereotypes on Chinese international students without even talking to them or getting to
know them on a personal level. The main stereotype found in the study were reflections on how
Chinese students are smart, good at math and science, intelligent, studious, different, and
hardworking (Ruble and Zhang 2012). There is a famous saying Dont judge a book by its
cover. This saying can apply to this concept of labeling Chinese international students in a
negative way. Americans need to get rid of this stereotype. When I asked Max about this
stereotype and how he and his culture thought of it, he said I believe Americans do label
Chinese people as smart and good at math and science. But my culture does not let the negative
stereotype affect them.
I now feel that this stereotype about how students from Asia and the Middle East are
smarter than us Americans is not accurate. When I brought up this stereotype in my interviews
with Siraj and Max, they both believed it was not true also. Siraj made an interesting point,
stating, The math and science in India was harder, and more advanced. It turns out that Asians
and people from the Middle East are not smarter than us just because that is their ethnicity. It is
because their culture puts a greater emphasis on math and science than the average American,
public education system. So this shows that America is lacking behind other countries in its
education system.

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Another stereotype that Americans place on international students is that they are only
coming to America to take over the jobs that are available. I disagree with this statement. I asked
Siraj and Max this question when I interviewed them and they both believed it was false.
International students do not want to take over the job force in America. They just want to utilize
the opportunities that are available in the United States as opposed to the country that they are
from. This starts with education. Siraj told me that there are not very good colleges in India as
opposed to the higher education programs in America. So, since he had the opportunity to come
to America to study, he knew he had to. Also, America is known as the land of opportunity.
Siraj and Max both hope to live in America for the rest of their lives after they finish their
degrees, and hope to move their families here as well.
After interviewing Siraj and Max, I do not believe that the stereotypes that I had and
my culture had of international students are true. The main reason that Americans go to college is
to receive a higher education. The main reason international students come to America is to
receive a higher education. Say higher education was not a primary focus in America, but was a
primary focus in China or the Middle East. Americans would definitely go overseas and get an
education. Our culture cannot single out international students and say that they are taking over
our workforce and are becoming too populated in American colleges. International students want
what is best for themselves, and that is why they decide to leave their families behind, their old
lifestyle, just so they can receive a prestigious education in America. This way, they have a
future. They then know that they can have a career in America, as opposed to living in the poor
areas that exist in other parts of the world.

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There were many reasons why I decided to conduct research on and interview
international students. One reason was to figure out clearly why students from Asia and the
Middle East decide to come to America for a higher education. I want to see if there is a
particular reason that is similar for different countries on why students my age decide to come to
America to study. There are many challenges and adversities that international students have to
face before even arriving in America for their study. Caroline A. Rickards, a writer for the
American Physiological Society, wrote a report on the many challenges that international
students face before even arriving in America. She states, The number one challenge endured
by all who come to the United States from another country is immigrationand this love/hate
relationship starts well before we even get to the United States border. Then, once they get to
the United States, international students will have to get a Social Security number, they might
want a credit card which is difficult with no previous credit history, and then they all have to get
adjusted to the major culture change that is present in the United States. Even though
international students are aware of these different types of adversities, they still find the
motivation to come to America to get an education. What makes an American education so
important to a student from another country?
After interviewing Siraj and Max, I realized that they both had similar reasons to come
to America for a college education. One reason was simply because they did not like living in the
countries they were from: India and China. They both did not like the way of living in those
countries. I also researched this topic to figure out other reasons why international students come
to America to study. The Department of Homeland Security provides a website to help students
from other countries figure out where to study in the United States and why they should. One

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fact that I find astounding, and is the main reason why America draws in so many international
students, is that 15 of the 20 best universities in the world are located in the United States
(Department of Homeland Security, Study Smart!). The Department of Homeland Security also
states on their website that many international students decide to come to the United States
because of how modernized many of the prestigious universities are. Many universities today in
America have giant libraries, larger campuses, newer residence halls, and more resources
available to students.
Another reason why many international students want to come to the United States to
study is because of the variety of programs and majors that are available currently (Department
of Homeland Security, Study Smart!). With such a wide variety of learning opportunities
available, there is truly a program for everyone. America offers the most diverse and exciting
range of higher education options than anywhere in the world (Department of Homeland
Security, Study Smart!). After doing this research, I discovered that the main reason why
international students come to America for a higher education is because there is more
opportunity here in America than the country they are from. This motivates them because they
know what they want in the future, and are more determined to come to America, to study and
get a good career here, than in a foreign country.
During both interviews, I asked Siraj and Max how American culture differed from the
Indian culture and the Chinese culture. They both agreed in the fact that America is a lot
different than the country they are from. Siraj stated that American culture had less traditions
than the Indian culture that he was accustomed to. He believes that Americans are a lot more
social and that things are not taken as serious here as opposed to in India. They both had taken

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English during their studies in their home countries, but neither were prepared for the changes
that were present in America. Siraj stated that he loves the cold weather here because in India, it
is hot almost year around. They both had a hard time getting used to the cultural norms here that
are not so normal where they are from.
An interesting observation that I discovered after conducting research about how
American education compared to education in other parts of the world, is that even though
America contains fifteen of the top twenty universities, America does not have the best education
system pre-college. In a study done by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES
2014), the achievement of American students is compared to students in other countries. There
was a test given to fifteen year old students in mathematics, science, and reading literacy. The
test was given in sixty-five different countries. The average score in the categories of
mathematics and science were lower than the average of all the countries combined. For reading
literacy, the United States was two points above the average score.
This study shows how the American education system before college is lacking behind
education systems in other countries. This could play into the fact of the stereotype of why
Americans play into the stereotype that people of Chinese ethnicity or Middle Eastern ethnicity
are smarter than us. They may be, but it is because they put more effort and more of a focus in
their educational system for the younger generation.

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Professor Feedback
Make sure page number is on the same line in the header.
Or at least is not entirely correct. I'd begin the essay with this sentence.
Don't need the full title in text. RR and YZ (2012) write .... is fine. See OWL at Purdue.
1862 words. Overall, good job. I think adding some more discussion on two three points--any would get
you to the 2400 words. Maybe more from your interviews or your observations.