After that interview, I called my father, who consoled and encouraged me. Next, before realizing it, tears were swelling in my eyes. To be perfectly honest, at that very moment, I was perplexed about what I should do next. What made me feel really sad was that I had fought so hard to earn the precious opportunity of studying overseas and later found myself to be told that the whole experience of studying abroad was nearly worthless.

As harsh as the reality was, that depressing interview sounded a wake- up call to me. After that interview, I decided to lower my expectations on jobs and to start everything from scratch. So I spent a lot of time writing and rewriting lesson plans. As time went by, it dawned on me that what I had gained during my time in Australia was immeasurable and certainly shouldn’t be denied by someone who barely knew me. It also came to me that this invaluable experience has already enhanced my career prospects which definitely will show later in my life.

Now, things are getting a little bit better. And I believe that I have what it takes to make it. What I need now it an opportunity or a stage to show my abilities. So long as I had it, I would be leading the life I had imagined sooner or later. After all this time, I find that I should have been more patient. Also, I am glad that I encountered the obstacles while I am still young as I don’t have anything to lose now. What doesn’t kill me is only going to make me stronger. And who knows, this may be a blessing in disguise.

I am not taking the skeleton out of my closet to invite your pity. I want to write this down because I hope Chinese international students can realize that they will need time to readapt to Chinese society after finishing their studies overseas. And hopefully, they can be prepared for this. Of course, not all the returnees will find it difficult to land a job or readapt. But, still, it’s better to be prepared than to be caught off guard. Plus, I really hope we can show more understanding to that particular group of students. I know a lot of people believe that some Chinese students from rich families choose to study abroad because they want to avoid the not-so-pleasant reality in China. By studying abroad, they could have a whole different identity and live a totally different life. This indeed exists. However, the majority of Chinese international students study in a foreign land just because they want to have a better future. They work extremely hard to pass the language test, to get an offer and to work their way through a tough foreign education system to graduate. Therefore, they deserve our respect.

The original blog is: http://blog.chinadaily.com.cn/blog-1433233-22418.html