英语阅读：Overcoming cultural barriers while abroad
During the week I had the pleasure to speak to a group of great students atNanjing’s University of Finance and Economics.
Whilst there I met one bright young fellow, a Mr. Chen – English name Bill,
who asked me the following favor, “Could you write an editorial column about the
language and cultural barriers you must overcome as a Chinese journalist in an
English speaking country.”
So with this in mind – I thought it best actually to ask for the help of
one of my Chinese colleagues here, who himself spent time at a US newspaper, Mr.
Zhao, referred to here as Frank.
Now regarding the first question which concerned the language barriers
needed to be overcome as a Chinese journalist in an English speaking country for
Frank this wasn’t so much an issue as he had already had years of studying
English, at an undergrad and later as a post grad. What he did mention was that
he began to pay more attention to the subtleties of the language and nuance, the
finer meaning often lost by intermediate language learners.
In terms of the cultural barriers one may encounter Frank remembered two
incidents that stood out. The first was when he covered a story about a group of
animal rights protestors who in this case were women and took off their clothes
and put themselves in a cage. (What a great story I thought!)
Second was during Independence Day when many co-workers clad themselves in
the national flag which Frank mentioned was less common or acceptable here.
The lessons he learnt from his experience was to be a proactive journalist
and constantly strive to do the best job possible. This meant doing the
preparation in the lead up to a story, making sure you covered every issue
thoroughly, and more importantly try to cover the story from a unique
perspective that made you stand out and shine from the competition.
Of note one of the positive memories he kept from his time working on a US
paper was the many interviews he conducted, over 100, and the treatment and
reception he received from the majority of people he spoke to. Overwhelmingly he
said that American’s were open and compliant to being questioned and did not
hold any prejudice towards him as a Chinese journalist.
So Bill I hope this is enough to get you thinking. As we have seen, Mr.
Zhao spoke favorably of his time in the US working as a journalist and in
retrospect I would also conclude that my experience here working at the China
Daily website has been equally rewarding.
I think at the end of the day it is up to the individual.
How well you engage with other workers, how hard you try to create
opportunities and how positive you are towards life in general – these are the
key ingredients that define a person’s experience while working abroad.
For a worker or student, it helps to see and believe in the best of life
and I think this will bring you eventual success in most places. So stay
committed Bill and all those out there and keep striving towards your goals!
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