I’m Chinese and fed up with your offensive stereotyping of international students

Stereotypes exist everywhere in the world: blondes are dumb, Londoners are rude, Chinese students are nerdy. But the prevalence of them doesn’t mean they’re accurate in portraying who we are.

There are so many reductive and offensive stereotypes surrounding us Chinese students here at Warwick and at other UK universities, so this is an effort to let you all know what we’re really like.

We’re not all nerdy

Look: I’m not in the library

Firstly, what’s wrong with being nerdy? Secondly, just because you might spot us in the library it doesn’t mean we are nerds without a social life. Considering our parents pay double the fees of home and EU students, other than experiencing the British culture, it’s important to work hard so that we are not wasting our parents’ money.

We play sport too

But we still know how to balance the “work hard, play hard” motto. Some of my Chinese friends are not only diligent students but are also talented football players who represent the university team and Warwick Finance Society in the football leagues. Don’t assume right away when you see a person who you believe fits your “definition” of an Asian looking and put stereotypical labels on them.

Having a foreign accent isn’t the same as being bad at English

Having a “bad” accent also doesn’t mean you’re automatically bad at English. It just means it’s harder for you to pronounce certain words. Some foreign students aren’t very fluent in English, but that does not apply to all. Once a guy at uni asked me why, as a Chinese person, my English was so good. When I told him I studied in the UK for seven years, he quickly replied “No wonder!” But in fact most school curriculums in Hong Kong are in English and hence we can speak and write English very well.

We are far from quiet

One of the reasons why some of us are quiet might be due to being afraid that others will judge our bad accents. But again, if you were in a non English speaking country, you will probably be a little quiet and hesitant at first when you meet new people. Interestingly, as the only Chinese working at my part-time job, I was the one who actually took the initiative to greet and introduce myself to the other students who were also part-timing there. Actually make an effort to speak to us and you’ll see we’re as open and friendly as anyone else.

We try to be inclusive

We have friends from all over the world

Why is it viewed as exclusive when you see a group of Chinese students gathered around but not quite the same when a group of people gossip, say, in French? One of the reasons why people are reluctant to step out of their comfort zone is because of the cultural clash or different sense of humour. I was blessed to have a group of amazing flatmates during my first year whom I am still really close to in my second year and would hang out all the time. One of my flatmates jokingly commented: “Asians need to integrate more and make more food for their non Asian friends.”

The courage to integrate with people outside your comfort zone should not only be the foreign students’ responsibility. If you meet someone new, no matter their race, just embrace them and try to understand their culture too. This is how the barriers of exclusivity will be broken.

No, we don’t all ‘look the same’

Have you not seen Katy Perry, Zooey Deschanel and Francesca Brown? They’re like triplets, right?

Let’s be honest: it is generally frightening to meet someone new, especially for international students when we are in a foreign country so far away from home. We are bound to be a little shyer at first. But doesn’t mean you can generalise about our looks and experience. You should at least put in effort to understand the culture background of different people in order to become less ignorant and more knowledgable about anyone who looks “different”.

Similarly, we’re not all from China

We’re not all the same

Saying all Asians are Chinese is almost like saying “Bonjour” to every single white person you see on the streets. I understand that some people are genuinely ignorant and didn’t know their geography or they didn’t live in a very ethnically diverse area etc. But living in such a culturally diverse country like the UK, it’s not an excuse anymore to assume that if you look Asian, you are automatically Chinese. It’s just plain rude.

We love clubbing just as much as people from the UK

There are some club nights targeted for “Asian” students which may seem to be exclusive from the outside but, really, everyone is always welcome. The reason behind these club nights is for those who are far from their hometown to have a fun night with music in their own languages such as Korean Pop. But we’ll happily party at other nights too.