1.
The article delves into the issue of cross-cultural adaptation among Chinese undergraduate students in American higher education environments, with particular focus on the dimension of academic adaptation. The study notes that despite the explosive growth in the number of Chinese international students over the past decade, there has been little scholarly effort to understand their genuine cross-cultural learning experiences from their own subjective perspectives. To address this research gap, the study adopts a narrative inquiry approach within qualitative research, documenting and analyzing personal experience stories of Chinese undergraduates to explore how they comprehend and construct meaning during their cross-cultural transition. Using Hofstede’s five cultural dimensions theory as an analytical framework, the research systematically examines how cultural differences concretely influence Chinese students’ learning processes in American universities. This research approach not only reveals the crucial role of cultural factors in educational contexts but, more importantly, places students’ personal narratives at the heart of the study, allowing the voices of the researched to be heard. The ultimate aim of the research is to provide practical references for American universities, helping them better understand the cultural differences that Chinese students bring and supporting these students in achieving success within a completely new academic environment.
2.
While reading this study, I deeply felt that what it describes is exactly the daily life I have experienced in Philadelphia—the cultural dimensions and adaptation processes rationally analyzed in academic papers are precisely what I have lived through via grocery receipts, museum brochures, and the sounds of the streets. When the research discusses power distance, I recall the sweat on my palms the first time I raised my hand to speak in a classroom; when it mentions individualism versus collectivism, also the stark contrast between the clear sound of cutlery while dining alone in a restaurant and the lively voices in my family’s WeChat group chat. These theoretical frameworks provide me with a mirror, making me realize that those seemingly random sensory fragments actually form a coherent narrative of cultural adaptation. My project aims to externalize this internal adaptation process into a tangible visual poetics, using the camera lens to capture the emotional textures that theory cannot fully contain. In this sense, my creative work is both a response to academic research and a transcendence of it. I want to showcase not only how a Chinese student “adapts” to Philadelphia but, more importantly, how I have established a unique sensory connection with this city, how I transform unfamiliar street corners into coordinates of personal memory, and how I carve out a fluid, personal space of belonging between two cultures.
3.
This week I continued shooting footage and uploaded it to the Arena website (where I store a lot of my materials). I’m also preparing to shoot some additional scenes and plan to edit a rough opening sequence, hoping to present it to everyone smoothly by Tuesday. I reached out again to a teacher from the Chinese Students’ Association whom I might interview, and she was very willing to help. Then I rewatched the documentary “Faces of the Village,” this time carefully analyzing its cinematography to identify elements I can learn from.
Reference
Zhang, H. (2013). Academic adaptation and cross-cultural learning experiences of Chinese students at American universities: A narrative inquiry (Doctoral dissertation, Northeastern University).