In France since the end of 2005. Born in 1985.
Only child. Mother: bank employee. Father: government employee.

I took French classes for six months at the Alliance Française before coming to France in 2005. The choice of France was made, among other things, because of the good level of biology at French universities. My father didn’t support me in my desire to go abroad. It made him very apprehensive. When I arrived in France I found it didn’t correspond with the image I had in China. People weren’t how I had imagined them… Where were the gentlemen? In England? At first I was afraid to go out in the street, in the metro… there are people who seem insane… I perceive the realities of life… worries… life isn’t rose tinted. My father gets very surprised when I tell him about my daily life. Outwardly, Chinese seem to have fewer worries. In China people think everything will be easier in France, but it isn’t like that. The French are very emotional, when they talk it is a bit tiresome. Perhaps we, the Chinese, are too discreet. It’s funny, but given the complexities of the language, I used to think the French were very bright… To be able to think of so many things while they speak… Often, the French emphasize their sentences with a “do you see what I mean”. I don’t know why. The Chinese are much more precise. For the Chinese every word has a meaning… Even while I don’t want to live in France all my life I’d like to go back from time to time… for the mood.