Annyeonghaseyo, je ireumeun Jessica imnida. Jeoneun 21 saligo, Hoju saraminde myeoch nyeon dongan Hanguk-e salgo issseumnida.

I sound like a native Korean, don't I? I know, many people -native Koreans- have told me this, and of course I take immense pride in it, too. Don't get me wrong, I love being an Australian and always will, but since I've decided to live in S. Korea, I'm happy that I'm fitting in.

If someone asks me how it all began, well, it's a bit hard to explain the true meaning of it. Most people that I've told about the reason why I came here feel that it's kind of lame, or undependable. But 4 years ago, I didn't think so, and I definitely don't regret my decisions.

K dramas. K pop. The clothes. The food. The culture. These are the things that made me inclined towards coming to S. Korea. I started watching K dramas at the age of 11, and one day I thought, "Imagine how cool it would be if I didn't have to read the subtitles, but could actually understand the language?!", so that day I decided that I would learn Korean. That day changed everything.

At first, my parents thought it was a joke, but soon, they realised that I was dead serious about it. Even though it took months of convincing, I managed to get them on board. Luckily, money had never been a problem. A couple of months after my 16th birthday, I travelled to S.Korea by myself for my further studies (10th grade). Leaving home was tough, but it could've been tougher.

My first year was a bit unsettling, and I often cried myself to sleep at night. Fortunately, the people around me were very welcoming, so I received all the help that I needed. The next year, 3 weeks after 11th grade began, I met Hae-Ri for the first time.

"Haksaengdeul, igeon Park Hae-ri imnida," our professor said. (Students, this is Park Hae-Ri.)

Unlike a lot of the others, our class wasn't the stuck-up kind, and we gave her a warm welcome.

"Annyeonghaseyo, Park Hae-Ri!" we all said in unison. (Hello, Park Hae-Ri!)

During recess, I being the extroverted type, went over and sat with Hae-Ri. I liked her personality, and we got along surprisingly well. At first, she seemed a little uncomfortable, but after a while she looked more relaxed. Before I knew it, Hae-ri and I had started hanging out each day, for the next couple of years. Much to our happiness, we even got into the same University in Seoul!

-Back to current time-

3 hours later, Hae-Ri ran into our room, looking breathless. She'd just hung up on me a couple of seconds ago, apologising about forgetting about our plans.

"Jinja mianhe! I completely forgot about our plans!" she apologised once again. (I'm really sorry!)

"Gwenchana," I smiled,"How's Min-Jae? Any better?" (That's okay)

"Heaps. He just needs to work on his grammar," she said, looking a bit restless. I shouldn't have asked, maybe it made her feel guilty.

"Hmm," I said, changing the topic, "Are you ready to leave?"

"Where to?" she asked, swinging her wooden wardrobe open and grabbing her handbag.

"Well, this new convenience store opened a few blocks away. Also, I'm really craving a hot, steamy bowl of Bok-Choy ramen, right now..." I grinned, slipping my feet into a pair of sneakers.

"With a cup of chocolate iced Americano..." she added.

"And a slice of triple chocolate raspberry fudge!" I completed.

Luckily, convenience stores in Korea were pretty cheap, so it was very affordable for University students like us. So there we were, ready to leave for our weekly treat.