Since those I am with all day every day don’t speak German,
I decided to publish at least the most important articles, which will be those about the people I meet.
What would an exchange year be without all the friends you make? The friends that come from all over the world, that make you think once again about the country you grew up in, the language you’re speaking, and the behaviour you are used to so much so that other‘s behaviour might seem a little off. That’s why I want you to get to know the people I hang out with. The first English text was about Vivi, a sweet Swedish Vietnamese student at Korea University. The next person I want you to meet is Joann!
How I met Joann
Actually I met Joann on the first days I arrived here in Korea. I ran into her all the time. Everywhere I went I noticed her walking around with a friend, too. That’s why I decided to just go talk to her the next time I would see her. It was on our Orientation Day where she was waiting in front of our dorm, as if she was waiting for me to talk to her. So I went: „Hey! I know you! I keep running into you and I feel like a stalker saying that!“ She laughed and joined me and my friend Camille for the the whole day. And when I say the whole day, I mean it. We had to listen to a boring two hour introducing presentation about the Do’s and Dont’s‘ in the dorm and had to keep silence while a woman was explaining that drugs are not legal – in Korean. We had lunch together at the Cafeteria, where I couldn’t even finish the Pizza because it was huge and I still have been feeling sick since my flight to Korea. We sat together at the Welcome Presentation of the Yonsei University (freezing) and went to a Welcoming Party in the evening: We had Korean Barbecue first ( Well, I had Cold Noodles) and then went to a Bar/ Club. Not really Joann’s thing. So at one point she left the bar and came back some minutes later with a bag of Olive Young. „I went out buying a hair dryer!“ OK, why not (:
Since then Camille, Joann and I were spending a lot of time together. Walking around in Hongdae’s Vintage stores, visiting a traditional Hanok Village, eating loads of Korean Streetfood and the best part: getting our hair dyed together. The hours we spend getting our hair bleached, dyed and cut were just the finest.
Why Joann is special
Joann is 22 years old and was born in China. Three years ago she moved to Vancouver to study Media Communication. In Korea she’s actually living her dream!
Since she’s a huge K-Pop Fan we visited SM Town together, a famous K-Pop label in Gangnam. Fortunately, she found out that Red Velvet was coming to the COEX Mall right next to us for a signing event. So you can imagine what we did: Joann made us all go and wait more than an hour for one of her favorite girl groups. Sadly, we couldn’t get really close but seeing her idols made Joann so happy, that it was worth waiting. And her luck continued: Since Joann moved to Seoul she went to two Blackpink concerts in a row – on the same day (because there were some tickets left). She bought Blackpink lenses to get the chance to meet them at a signing event and it worked: Joann got to see her favorite Band in person! And even gave them a present. Also, she went to a concert of Winner and will see a Blackpink in Japan – again! In a nutshell, Joann is my number one K-Pop friend here in Seoul! But of course, that’s not all there is.
When I first saw Joann I just thought: What a stylish girl! Just the way she walks and moves looks so smooth you just wanna hang with her. Joann is not loud or outgoing at first sight, she’s more the introvert person I would say and sometimes looks more at her phone screen than she would look at you 🙂 But when she talks, Joann happens to be super funny. Everytime she saw a pharmacy she shouted out loud: „약!“ [Yak!] Which actually just means pharmacy or medicine. But because it was the first word we learned in Korean, we made fun of it all the time. That’s why Camille calls her 약, but actually I’m calling her Jo! Also, sometimes I talk to her, she just looks at me with big eyes and says „What?“. At first I have patient enough to repeat my questions, but after a while I got it: She just did it to annoy me. It happened so much it became an insider joke.
Also, she lived not far away from my room. Actually, just three rooms further. That’s why Camille, Joann and I always went out and back to the dorm together – especially in the first few weeks. So it’s not a surprise that Joann sometimes knocked on my door just to see what I was doing or sometimes to bring me comfort food (: One evening, she knew I had a bad day, Joann came by and gave me an egg and an apple: „Don’t forget to eat!“ (:
And last, but not least: Joann is a great photographer! <3 Beside me, she was the only one in our group using a analoge camera! and I’m so excited to see all the pictures!
Joann is my first Chinese friend and I hope we can meet again soon – whether in Korea, China or even Europe or Canada! We will alway be hair-dying partners (:
