Lonely this Christmas
Not a good choice for Christmas Eve
Headline: Lonely this Christmas
Standfirst: Christmas is a season full of happiness, but for some people, it can turn out to be a period of loneliness.
Brief Story:
Christmas, the major celebration during the year is creeping closer. For most of the British students, Christmas means the holidays spent with their family. However, Christmas can turn out to be the most desolate period for some people: the international students in the university, for example.
Of course, due to people’s different religions and background, there is no reason for everyone to celebrate this Christian festival. But the empty campus and the closed stores bring only one thing to the international students stay here – loneliness. Perhaps there is nothing more awful in life than feeling alone at Christmas.
Cardiff University hosts over 3000 international students from over 100 countries throughout the year. Most of the European students will return home for the holidays, while many others, especially those who are from other continents, chose to stay here to save the money and time.
“I don’t have enough money and time,” says Siyuan Zhang, a Chinese student studying a PhD in Biology, who has spent two Christmases in Cardiff, “I miss home, my wife and child, but the air ticket costs six hundred pounds, I can’t afford it. What’s more important, I have got a lot of research work to do.”
When asked how he will spend Christmas Eve, he said:” nothing special, maybe cook and have a dinner with my Chinese friends, then spend the time on line.”
Culture and the language gap turn out to be another question related to this issue. A report published last year by the Council for International Education (UKcosa), indicates this problem. As the largest national groups on campus, the majority of Chinese students spend the leisure time with their Chinese friends, and they fail to establish relationships with British students. According to the finding of the survey which covers 5000 Chinese students across the UK, “only 15% of Chinese students said they had UK friends”.
And so, for these international students, the Christmas vacation is often stuck in their tiny bedrooms. Enjoying the festival season with local people is simply not an option.
“We are trying our best to make these international students feel at home during Christmas,” says Revd. Dr. Lorraine Cavanagh in her letter to all the international students, who organizes the annual Christmas Day party in Cardiff University, “just as I did last year, any students who find themselves alone in Cardiff that day are welcome.”
Another good choice for the international students is the host family. Spending the Christmas Eve with local British people and their families could be the best memory for a student studying in the UK. Cultural differences and national traditions provide a lot of conversational topics around dinner the table. Meanwhile, the host families can learn a great deal about another country and the alternative festive celebrations.
“Loneliness is the greatest challenge, but it also can be your best friend during that period,” said Shan Wu, a Chinese student who has finished her study in Cardiff University. Studying abroad can be exciting and fantastic, it can be daunting and tiresome as well, which depends on your choice. (515 words)
