Rei Jhin (20)
Rei lived in eight different countries for a period at least over two years in each country. Rei spent her adolescence in Nepal, from age of 10 to 14. There, she made her many closest friends. In Nepal, she loved to wear tie-dyed sundresses. She remembers when she wore tie-dyes or vivid colored clothes, she would shine as bright as the sun. She was also used to wearing tank tops with sport shorts.
Rei recalled a moment when she met her relatives for the first time in several years at the international airport when she came back from Nepal: "I was wearing a tye-dye top with jean shorts when I saw my aunt and uncle at the airport. I was really shy because I hadn't seen them in such a long time. I bowed really politely, but my uncle turned around to my aunt and whispered something to her ears. After my family and aunt and uncle set around the dinner table, my aunt whispered something to my mom. After everyone left, my mom told me my relatives thought I dressed very "mindlessly". Now that I think of it, my uncle must have been really bothered when I bowed down, revealing my bra.
Rei soon enrolled in to a high school in Korea, where she has to wear a uniform. She completed her school-look by adding scarfs and a hobo bag she purchased from Nepal. When I asked what those items meant to her, she said "I guess they were like... a statement items that distinguished myself from others within myself.. you know what I mean? It was more for reminding myself, rather than telling other people." When I further asked her what it means to be "herself" rather than everyone else, she said "more free-spirited", "creative" and "memories of Nepal". (Image of the hobo bag similar to Rei's above.)
As her best friend, I know that Rei was always stressed and sad that her histories and friendships seemed always incoherent and separated from each other. She felt she was forgotten, and disconnected from the places and group of people she tried so hard to mingle with. As soon as she started to belong somewhere, she was forced to leave and start the same process again in a different country.
But no one really notices that Rei is having hard time adjusting to a new environment, since she is so good at it. She is an expert at reading what the local social "atmosphere" is. I haven't seen anyone who disliked her or thought she was "weird" or "awkward".
I asked her if she used clothing as a way to help her to assimilate into different cultures that she encountered. She said there were times that she wanted to buy more clothes so that she would perfectly fit into what she imagined as "Seoul look". However, due to budget restraints, she had to invest in the most versatile and symbolic item that represented Seoul.
For her, it was a Chiffon floral patterned dress in pastel/neutral color. "I thought my out fit was too.... gender neutral. It was way too simple, too casual. As I enter Korean University, I felt I needed to be more feminine". She also mentioned that she would picture herself with a more flashy, detailed flat shoes. Preppy cardigan was also another item that made many of her already owned item look closer to the "Seoul look" - it made many outfits dressier. But she always seem to wear her Pashmina scarf and the hobo bag with almost everything she wore.
After a year in a Korean University, Rei transferred to Monash University in Australia. She kept in touch with friends she met in Korean University using Facebook. She uploaded photos of her in Australia, including some party photos. Although it was in a joking tone, many friends left comments saying that she was an embarrassment of the country(Korea).
Regardless of what her university friends in Korea says, Rei is more than happy to be free to be herself in Australia. "Here, I can be as wild and weird as I wanna be and people love me for it." (Image of her wearing a paper-clown dress).
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