In France since 2000. Born in 1975.
One sister. Mother: worked in an industrial company, gave up her job to take care of her children. Father: commercial manager in a firm.

I come from Zhenjiang. I always wanted to be a journalist and speak a foreign language…”Je fais ce que je veux” (I do what I want) is one of the first sentences I learned when I arrived in France, I didn’t know what it meant… now I understand it very well.

In China everyone has to be the same, and live for others, under the sight of others. If you’re single at a certain age all the people that know you, like your family, are very upset… more upset than you are. Here it doesn’t seem to be a problem. Everyone has their private life… The French are more centered on themselves… When I go to China I’m happy to find real life… Daily life is much more dynamic in China… Life seems easier… I say that but I can’t stand the idea of permanent competition… there is always a lot of pressure… in Hong Kong people run to gain time. There is no joy of living… always running after anything… a race without end. The Chinese live for others, family, the boss, the thoughts of others.

France is changing… it is no longer a welcoming country. The procedures for the reuniting of families don’t exist anymore. Each day it is harder to have your family come over. Despite everything, I adore their culture… besides there is freedom of thought and the rebellious side. The French criticize others a lot, but they have the courage to laugh at themselves…

Those of us who were born in the 70s are from the middle generation. For one part, we have all the traditions, for the other we make the most of the openness of the country… A generation in transition… As a woman, I wish to be able to study, to work, to travel, cultivate myself as much as possible, before I concentrate on my family and children. A woman always needs to cultivate her curiosity, her ties with the outside world… instead of submerging herself on the kitchen. Moreover, in China modern women are stronger every day; they attain positions of leadership, especially in international firms. The same happens with their partner, especially in large cities, where it is the woman who takes decisions most of the time. Men call their wife jokingly “my director”. In France it is the other way around, men are used to be pampered by women.