Having been a student and teacher in China (at Peking and Tsinghua Universit

Having been a student and teacher in China (at Peking and Tsinghua Universities, respectively), I know quite a few Chinese students. Indeed, nearly all of them have gone to the United States to pursue their studies. Like the larger body of Chinese students in the United States-- totaling well over 40,000-- my friends live across the vast expanse of the American continent, on both coasts and in the states in between. They have chosen fields of study ranging from environ- mental engineering and public policy to history and Asian studies. Yet despite the great diversity among these students in terms of their ages, backgrounds, locations, and majors, shared experiences remain. None are more pronounced that the inability of most Chinese students to effectively immerse themselves in American society.
    It seems to me that the majority of Chinese students in the United States have never made the effort to reach out and embrace American life on its own terms. Instead, most share apartments with one or more fellow Chinese students, speaking Chinese and eating Chinese food on a daily basis. In some respects, it is as if these students had never left China.
    Interactions with Americans tend to be limited to relatively formal, academic settings, such as the classroom or a professor’s office. Moreover, few Chinese students participate in campus-wide extracurricular activities, such as athletic matches and dances, which would put them into contact with a diverse array of American young people. Rather, most limit themselves to taking part in programs arranged by the Chinese Students Association and, naturally, these events are generally linked to uniquely Chinese occasions such as the Spring Festival and National Day. As a result, even Chinese students who have spent years in the United States often difficult to engage American friends in sophisticated conversations about such subjects as American politics, race relations, and popular music. In short, they lack a "feel" for the country.
    Chinese students widely acknowledge this phenomenon even as they maintain differing views as to its cause. Some contend that Chinese have difficulty bridging the cultural divide on account of such practical considerations as money.
    Because Chinese students come from a developing country and often have to rely on limited scholarship funds for support, they argue, Chinese students simply do not have the financial means to more fully participate in the extracurricular and social activities, which would afford them more substantive contact with American (and other foreign) students. The truth is, however, that most American students are just as poor; it is a common fact of American student life. And in any event, most campus-based social events are priced to meet student needs.
    Others believe that the reason Chinese find acculturation difficult is somewhat more complex. Fundamentally, few Chinese see the chance to study in the United States for what it is: a once in lifetime opportunity to get to know another country from the inside. Chinese students typically focus so single-mindedly on their studies that they lose sight of the larger picture, that is, their ultimate role as cultural interpreters between their homeland and the United States. To be sure, a Chinese student’s service as an engineer or biologist is integral to China’s continued economic construction, but his or her ability to bridge the divide--or often, the perceived divide-between two distinct cultures is perhaps even more important over the long run.
    Today, only a small fraction of the Chinese students who have studied in the United States have returned to China, a proof of both the academic and professional success of Chinese students in the United States and the openness of the society in which they found this success. The contributions Chinese students have made to American life are truly striking.
    Still, I believe that the next generation of Chinese students in the United States--those who will begin the 21st century there-will recognize their crucial function in the process of furthering U. S.-- China understanding. They will return to China in unprecedented numbers to contribute to their country’s development in unprecedented ways. I only hope that before these students find their way back to China, they find their way into the heart of America.