Expectations and real life: Cross-cultural adaptation of Chinese students in China and the Netherlands

Western Europe has known Chinese migrants for over a century. The first generations arrived with little financial resources. Many of them were recruited as sailors, opened their own restaurants or were employed by restaurants. Recently, a new wave of Chinese migrants has come to Western Europe. These new Chinese migrants differ considerably from the earlier generations. A large number of them are students of whom many want to go back to China, others see a good opportunity for a scientific career and want to stay. In this chapter two empirical studies are presented. The first one describes the relation between demographic variables, academic level, intercultural communication self-efficacy (ICS), intercultural competencies, and academic performance, friendships with foreigners and the expected adaptation of a group of Chinese students (N = 1137) in China. The second study examines the relation between the same variables as the first study, but examines real adaptation of Chinese students (N = 168) who stay for a couple of years in the Netherlands.