New country, new life, new challenge

Every year, thousands of young Chinese head overseas to study. For many, the thrill of moving into a new environment is overshadowed by feelings of alienation and a lack of friends in their host country. Wang Fan and Yuan Yue report from New York.

On a summer day in 2010, 18-year-old Jane Yu quick-stepped through the cool morning wind in Iowa in the central United States, a backpack slung over her shoulder. She was a freshman at Iowa State University.

"I fitted in to the new environment quickly, but sometimes it was a little bit awkward when an 'American joke' popped up during a lecture and the whole class burst into laughter, except me," she said.