In my school, the Chinese students grouped together, and the Vietnamese grouped together. They stayed that way nearly exclusively, and picked on each other relentlessly, refusing to speak any language (including English) among each other except for their native language.<p>So at least with that experience, I'm not sure this is a Western problem. I can't imagine that any white person would try to infiltrate and make friends in either group considering how they were treating each other and being so exclusive to themselves. And the fact that they purposely made sure nobody "outside" the group could understand them.<p>Not only that, the Asians who <i>didn't</i> hang around in either of these tight-knit groups were labelled something akin to "banana" - white on the inside and yellow on the outside - and taunted for trying hide their Asianness. It all boils down to a solid confirmation that mixing wasn't allowed in <i>any</i> direction.<p>Friendships are two-way endeavours. I'm not saying everyone self-segregates, and I'm sure that even a lot of people who do actually wish they weren't doing it. But it is so common that I think it is unfair to blame it on Western culture.
For whatever cultural reasons Chinese abroad tend to stick with other Chinese.<p>Since there are many Chinese students in the US (and Canada, UK, etc.) they often don't really interact much outside their circle of Chinese friends.<p>Now, of course it's not easy to move to a different country with a different language and culture, but I think that the cultural aspect specific to Chinese plays a significant part. I think Indians are somewhat similar in maintaining a strong community among themselves when abroad.<p>In general, I would say that the best thing that can happen to you if you go to study abroad is to end up being alone. That really forces you to integrate with the local people, culture, and language, which I think is the whole point of going abroad.
This has definitely been my experience. Language and cultural differences make close friendships with US students difficult and International students are often forced to associate with one another instead. A real tragedy when many/most of these international students go back to their home countries.
Part of the reason is because the Chinese Students and Scholars Associations (CSSA) on most campuses, who work tightly with the local consular offices (read: CCP), dissuade Chinese students from mingling with foreigners lest they become "brainwashed".<p>See <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/03/07/chinas-long-arm-reaches-into-american-campuses-chinese-students-scholars-association-university-communist-party/" rel="nofollow">https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/03/07/chinas-long-arm-reaches...</a>.