Chinese students' perceptions of home and community in the United States: A case study at University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign

Abstract

This article explores certain aspects of home and community most important and unique to Chinese students' experience in the United States. The success of both university and private housing at University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign in creating a sense of home and building a community is evaluated. The students' sense of home is related to being safe, having privacy, and presence of their family. Finding and belonging to a community is crucial to the newly arrived students. Being away from their families and friends in China, they try to recreate a home through a community of other students. Home and community are thus inextricably linked together for the Chinese student.