Foreigner

What's wrong with sitting next to a foreigner?

Sometimes I find myself sitting in class early before people come in to take their seats. After the class begins, I find myself with an empty seat next to me. This often makes me sad and sometimes prods at my self-confidence.

Recently, I had a talk with a REDbird trainer who grew up in Canada. She shed some light on the gap between mixing internationals and locals. Often, if a person isn't confident with their English, they find it difficult to talk to the international students. Many students, after all, with strong English background end up studying overseas. So students who are not so confident end up going to HKUST and subsequently are uncomfortable with the high number of exchange students and foreigners like myself. They of course won't leave their comfort zone and go out of their way to practice English. And as long as there is the lingual gap, there is also the illusion of the cultural gap, which heightens a sense of the need to stay within your own circle.

I think my adjustment period here brings to light an important take-home point. That "foreigners" isn't limited to someone who's from a different country and speaks a different language. It refers to people who are generally different from what we are used to. This sort of thing happens everywhere! In the USA, Canada, and elsewhere. When the Filipinos, Vietnamese, or Chinese first immigrated to Southern California, they all experienced a sense of discomfort from their communities. After all, why should someone be forced to accept a new culture and way of thinking? Why should someone be forced to try to communicate with people who were so limited in their English abilities?

But change that way of thinking and ask.. why should you alienate the person who is different when you don't even know that person completely? Can't you learn something new from someone that's different from you? New perspectives. Reach out to people. I personally think it makes the world a better and friendlier place.

I gotta be honest, though, stepping out of my comfort zone has definitely been HARD!