Google search: 不在国人里面扎堆 （不在华人里面扎堆）: this talked about the Chinese students abroad like to confine among themselves, in terms of social interaction etc. I can sense it when I saw my niece was here for her high school and undergraduate study.
Recently I realized some Chinese parents like to gather among Chinese parents as well. It’s not surprising and to some extent understandable for people like to gather among their races. I saw that during pandemic. But at the same time, as we gradually go back to the new normal, we should strive to step out our comfort zone.
My take
No need to be that absolute. Ideal scenario: now that we are in Rome, (for the most part) let’s do as Romes do. Otherwise why we came here at the 1st place.
When I was in Rolla during my graduate school, I stayed at Fraternity with undergraduates mainly to learn more about the English language and American culture. At my first US employer after the graduate school, I was the only Chinese at the branch and I learned all the computer programming topics in English.
Now that my kids go to middle and elementary school, I encourage my kids to play with the kids from all background. At the same time, I acted as the permanent DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) rep in the PTA/PTO organization. There are always something to learn from other cultures. And we are not always the best, the smartest, or most hard working.
One downside solely gathering among Chinese people
One word (in Chinese): 卷。Look no further than the San Francisco bay area, among the Chinese kids. Many parents either went to ivory colleges (or other very good universities) for graduate school, and for them if their kids don’t go to good universities, it’s a failure both for the kid and the parents. I have friend who moved from bay area to Miami and one reason was to reduce some competition for his kids. This is true in the school district my kids attend, although they are still a bit young (7th and 3rd grades, respectively). But I can see the pressure going up as they progress through their grades.