The Search for Identity

Hello guys! First of all, I’m gonna introduce myself. My name is Cherry Halim and I was born on June 29, 2001 in Surabaya City, East Java, Indonesia. Many of my friends are questioning my name, whether it’s really Cherry or I just made it by myself. But yep that’s my real name given by my parents. My family is Chinese descent, so I have a Chinese name too, which is spelled Lin Xiao Wei. My Chinese name was given by my grandfather which means laugh. So, my family always calls me by my Chinese name, however, my friends always call me by my English name, which is Cherry. In my Country, Indonesia, we have our way of giving the surname to people who are Chinese descent. The example is my own name, if your family name in Chinese is” Lin”, so your surname in English most likely will be “Halim”. 

Even though I’m from Indonesia, actually I’m studying in Taiwan for my Bachelor’s degree. So actually, I’ve been studying abroad and now I’m even further away from home. In Taiwan, I majored in International Tourism Management. Yes, the majors I took in Taiwan and in Germany now are quite different. Not only because LMU doesn’t have a major that I’m studying, but also because I want to learn something new, which might be useful for my future.

Actually it’s a bit sad, because my goal to join this exchange program is because I want to find my identity. It’s sad, because I feel that in Taiwan I haven’t been able to find what I want to do in the future, and even feel that what I’m learning is not very relevant for my future. Therefore, I try to push myself to get out of my comfort zone and join this exchange program, to see another side of the world and other perspectives of people from countries that are not in Asia. I hope this exchange can have a good and significant impact in my search for identity, and of course it can be one of the best experiences in my life.