Why go abroad?

Watching "Chinese Partner" these days has touched my heart and made me deeply moved!

Meng Xiaojun's sad experience in the United States, starring Deng Chao, reminds me of my vicissitudes in Canada.

I feel a lot. I can tidy it up. First as a diary, and second as a reference for those who want to go abroad. Of course, the time is not long, many things have not been fully seen, and I dare not "reasonably imagine" casually, so I can only record them superficially.

However, it doesn't matter whether you come back or not. When you first land, you can't help but think about it. Going abroad must be a broad vision. There must be a lot to go in life, so it must be better than home. There is no doubt about our answers to these questions before going abroad. But people who have been there have warned us that Canada is like this. You can't fit into the society here. We tried it at first, but later we knew it wouldn't work. So, it's hard to get along here. At most, I just mix a nationality and almost go back to China to mix. Everyone is like this.

Is this cold water meaningful? In order to answer this question, we spent half a year and gradually got our own opinions.

First, draw a picture of new skilled immigrants from the mainland: at first, we were new immigrants, who were we afraid of and took pictures everywhere; Then, the language is not good, I entered a language school and made a group of friends in China. Then go to work or go to school, in order to find a professional job; Alas, I finally found a slightly satisfactory job, and the days passed like this. It's a little boring, but think about it when you come over

Language barrier is the most deadly for many people. It is like a wall. How do people get through it? Fortunately, despite the fragmentation of speech, it can still meet the needs of daily life, such as shopping and asking for directions, and will not suffer from dumb loss. If you want to talk to white people more, you can't squeeze out more words even if you grind your roots. It is best to be friends in China, and they can communicate well in language and emotion. So, let's play together. Therefore, we don't play with white people. China people, Hongkong people, Taiwan Province people and Indians who grew up here stay in private plots. They rarely see them and don't play when they see them.

Do you think putting different cultures together will automatically merge? Can people with different skin colors be classmates and friends if they are put in the same school class? Not necessarily. Cultural integration is difficult. In our opinion, there is only one so-called multiculturalism in Canada's 200 languages, that is, mainstream culture, which assimilates by using the cultural similarities and differences of other ethnic groups. The culture brought by China people, except the culture of eating, is used for assimilation. Therefore, the cultural weakness of new immigrants is very obvious, and it is almost impossible not to feel marginalized at first.

The so-called marginalization naturally means that there is a boundary to divide different ethnic groups. When we realize the existence of this boundary, we will naturally live in the small circle of China people, get together after work and study, chew new people and things together and enjoy mutual recognition. When we all put our sense of identity on these friends, we don't care what white people think of us or what the values of this fresh society are. Surrounded by the values brought from China, we built a little China in Canada. Therefore, in Chinatown, Fujian villagers still safely sweep the garbage into the street. Although he also knows that in many other places, the ground is so clean that he can sit everywhere without being afraid of getting his pants dirty.

At this point, the answer is already obvious. When we came to the country of "Canada, everyone takes it", our world was reduced to a group of people. Although we can feel the information bombarded by the media, we often use a sieve to filter this information, and only the information related to our small group can pass through and enter our nerves. This poor information and communication between friends constitute our spiritual life. Although we have seen many things that people living in China seldom see, we are like nannies living in rich families. Although we also live in a mansion, all luxuries have nothing to do with her.

In China, we talk about the cycle of life. In Canada, the circle seems more obvious. Koreans have Korean circles, Japanese have Japanese, Greeks have Greeks, and they all live in their own fences like China people. In a big way, the French have a French circle, but their circle is too big, occupying the whole of Quebec, but in essence, they also surround themselves, don't they? But in contrast, new immigrants live in a small circle in China, which is smaller than that in China. Because the domestic life circle is still extended, but there is no extension here. Besides, although there are millions of immigrants from China, it is difficult for China people to get together. For example, although once a smuggler and an international student, even in the same restaurant, it will become a circle. In addition, there are China people's complex interpersonal psychology and other factors.

Cultural barriers and cultural identity

Enough cold water. Let's have something hot.

Dwelling in a humble abode is not the fate of all new immigrants, and there are naturally a few who break through the cocoon. Here, because we know that there are very few such people, we are not sure to jump to conclusions. We can only say that it is not easy.

At a shallow level, cultural differences are what English calls cultural shock. An example is: Once, our white friend was going to China on business, and he wanted to ask us to help him with some daily expressions before going out. He said he would give us money, and we immediately said "no", and then he really didn't dare to ask us again.

A little deeper, it is the same topic. In particular, do you think it is easy to find the same topic outside of work and study? Further down, it is emotional communication. We think it is necessary to achieve this in order to make friends with people in mainstream Canadian culture. Many new immigrants have been in the stage of cultural shock for a year or two, and there is still a long way to go before the Long March.

Let me remind you that we are talking about adults, and the situation of middle school students is completely different because of their different ages.

In English learning, there is a very important but often neglected aspect, that is, cultural adaptation in psychology textbooks. Let's just translate it into "cultural identity". Our understanding is that "cultural identity" means imagining yourself as a white man and thinking and acting like a white man. Language is only a part of the cultural system. If we can understand other parts of the cultural system on which language depends, it will certainly help us master the language. Many people in China believe that English will advance by leaps and bounds as long as they live in an English environment. We don't think so. Do not believe me, go and see how many returned international students can speak fluent English. The key point is that it is not enough to live in an English environment, but also to realize "cultural identity". To achieve cultural identity, as mentioned above, we must be able to break through the barriers of the circle and deal with people in the mainstream culture. People in the circle are caught in a vicious circle: if the language is not very good, there will be fewer opportunities to create "cultural identity", so the progress of the language will stagnate after a certain degree. Middle school students lack cultural barriers, which is one of the reasons why they learn languages quickly.

I have always been a person who wants to break the rules. To this end, we need to hint at our plasticity. We should take the initiative to accept the culture here, at least three or seven points, that is, seven points are from China and three points are from Canada. Sometimes I wonder what those ghosts are thinking, and even imitate some of their behavior habits. Personally, I think it is quite difficult to do this. After all, it is old and young, but we have every reason to try it, which stems from our understanding of the significance of going abroad.

Utilitarianism really shouldn't be put too seriously.

People who want to go abroad often want to know what the weather is like there, how to eat, how to live, whether people are good at dealing with each other, whether we have economic ability and so on. These questions all have specific answers, so I won't talk about them. What I said earlier is to try to provide a thinking angle for the non-"yesorno" question of whether I can adapt to the new environment psychologically and whether I will be lonely and confused. In the final analysis, it is a question of language and culture. And after knowing that these problems exist, what attitude will you take? This requires asking ourselves: Why do we go abroad and what are we doing here?

Everyone has his own reasons for going abroad. Want to emigrate or gild, want to take root or semi-take root, or be a long-term donkey friend for the education of children. We believe that the most young people still come out with the expectation that tomorrow will be better. After coming, I have met many people who are unwilling to step out of the small China world because of laziness. Personally, I think so. Since I came out, I don't know what the world is like, thank it. I believe many people have made a lot of efforts before going abroad.

Going abroad to see, this primitive impulse is shared by many people. But what do we want to see? I don't think it's to see how magnificent the urban buildings are here, to see the beautiful mountains and rivers here, to eat hamburgers, to compare whether the moon here is more round, or to know something strange and brag to friends. I think it depends on the culture here. The difference between Chinese and western societies is not only GDP, but also culture. Different cultures can broaden our horizons, broaden our thinking and make people smarter (believe it or not). I think it's better to stay here for a few years and then go back to China to cheat. It is better to calm down and absorb the cultural nutrition you need, learn something in a down-to-earth manner and improve your quality, so that the world will become bigger, not smaller. Sometimes, utilitarian heart really shouldn't be put too heavy.