There were many nights/days this week when doodling was not on my mind. I guess I couldn't take my mind off the dreaded task of renewing my visa at the immigration office.

I did find inspiration in some pretty (but dying) flowers that I spotted while waiting to cross the road on my way to immigration. It was about 1200 degrees outside, and the hot weather makes me more creative (the same way red wine does).

Renewing my visa gets easier each time I do it as my language skills improve. I feel so proud of myself for how far I have come with my Korean studies. This week marks 8 years since I first arrived in Seoul as an exchange student. All I had in my brain was the Hangul alphabet and a few greeting words.

Over the last 8 years, I have studied (kind of), practised, embarrassed myself (mostly this), and fumbled my way through everyday tasks and scenarios to get to a point where I feel like I might just be able to survive here after all.

I still talk like a Korean primary school student, have a really high-pitched voice when I speak, and fumble my way through life, but I'm proud of myself nonetheless. I owe a lot to convenience store workers, colleagues, doctors' appointments, phone calls, bank clerks, and chatty elderly people on the subway. They are the people who have really thrown me into the deep end without a life jacket and helped me learn how to swim in daily Korean conversation.

I'm starting a new Korean class this month and continuing to persevere along the road to permanent residence. The day will come. But for now, I will pat myself on the back and think about where I started.

Just like drawing and painting, my Korean language journey is a lifelong pursuit, and I'm excited to see how much I will grow in the next 8 years!