Yes, my name is Cerise

“Cerise” in French actually means “Cherry”. My parents chose this name because I was born on a street of Paris called “Cherry Tree Street” (la rue de la cerisaie). Both of my parents are Chinese. As I was born in France, I belong to the so-called “banana generation”. We children of Chinese immigrants in France call themselves “banana” because we are “yellow outside” as we look Asian but “white inside” as we grew up in a Western cultural environment, fully integrating the French culture.

When I was studying French modern literature at the University of Paris, I met a girl who was born in Korea but was adopted very young by a French family. We were sharing the same deep interest for literature, and for the French and Latin cultures in general. Once she told me that she felt somehow like a “tree without roots”. Though for my part I know well my origins, it is probably in order to get closer to them that I decided to come to Taiwan. Also, I always wanted to improve my Chinese.

In this garden of my own, I think I am more like a weeping willow: well enrooted in the soil, my branches are still bending to be soaked by the running waters of Chinese culture.

weeping willow: well enrooted in the soil, my branches are still bending to be soaked by the running waters of Chinese culture.

Hello!

Hello ! My name is Cerise, and I am presently living in Taipei. Since February 2007, I’m the network coordinator of eRenlai, a website that focuses on the interaction between the youth of China and the rest of the world. The idea is to exchange ideas and information about the way to tackle common challenges such as global warming or helping China, Asia and the rest of the world to enter the path of sustainable development. eRenlai is a good example of what Newsweek recently dubbed Asia’s ‘We” generation.

As the website has been developed as an “Adobe flash” program, its referencing on the web is not automatic. That’s why I am starting this blog: in order to introduce more people to the rich material that eRenlai is offering to all of us. Maybe you will feel like reading, contributing and becoming a member of our network! And this blog should help us to debate about some of the issues that eRenlai is raising.