California is mentioned a total of two times in this entire article. Oregon and Washington zero times. The main character and adjacent are students who choose to live on the East Coast (not even New York City) and at universities with small Chinese student populations. Some of them become hardcore rednecks. The author has a main character who "doesn't like California" and mentions briefly only once a couple living in California. This is quite disingenuous or ignorant for an article that titles itself "How Chinese Students Experience America". It should be qualified as "White America" at the very least. Are Chinese students only capable of experiencing America by living on the East Coast/living in White/Black America? The experience of the majority of Chinese students living in Chinese America is not as valid as the minority who don't?
Try talking about the West Coast next time. Approximately 40% of ethnic Chinese in the USA live there in particular highly-concentrated areas. I guarantee there would be key differences that change the vibe of the story the author wants to tell.
https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Americans#Demographics
https://wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._cities_with_signific...
https://ca.style.yahoo.com/most-chinese-schools-america-1430...
> In 2021, there were more than fifteen hundred Chinese at the University of Pittsburgh, and around three thousand at Carnegie Mellon, whose campus is less than a mile away.
This is not a small number, but not as big as the author thinks.
Overall, I think the author is quite credible to write about decades of experience from teaching students in China, but his narrative on the Chinese experience in America is very unconvincing.
> Kefalos’s grandfather had come from Greece, and his father had worked as an electrical engineer in the steel industry. Many of his current tenants were immigrants. “My personal experience is that they are relatively hardworking,” he said. “And I think that’s true with most immigrants who come into the country. Whether it’s for education or a better life.” He looked up at Vincent and said, “My sense is that most U.S. citizens born in the United States don’t have any idea how fortunate they are.”
I roll my eyes at this closing bit on "Americans are born so fortunate", "American Dream" stuff.