By Abhishek D Joshi, graduate student of Electrical Engineering

After getting separated from my friends and put into Seoul National University's graduate dorm, I was left to feel alone. When you are made to stay in a dorm with strangers, the experience can be unnerving. It has been two years since then and the stay has been eventful and I have had myriad encounters that have made it exciting. The past two years have been a great learning experience and have given me abounding opportunities to introspect. From surviving on just bread, rice and yogurt to eating every kind of meat, I have gone through it all. I still remember the initial days when"no thanks" was my answer for any meat, but today I say"Why not, let's try it." This would never have been my response had I been back in my nation of birth.

I am sure every expat in Korea has felt the same sort of adventurism. I hardly had any knowledge about the Korean way of life. The phase of adapting -- or trying to adapt -- to new surroundings is sublime.

For someone who had never eaten any meat, including eggs, nor had I drunken alcohol, remembering every important milestone for the same is not a big deal.

I remember clearly the day when I ate meat for the first time; drank soju for the first time; drank macoli for the first time.

Even devouring fried chicken at KFC and burgers at McDonald's were new for me.

Though I am not much of a social person, my social circle has been expanding. From having amazing compatriot friends to great Korean and other friends, this stay has provided me an opportunity to meet all kinds of people. Had I stayed home -- and I guess this is true for most expats -- I would not have had a chance to make friends from all over the world.

The transition into Korean society was at times not easy.

The social fabric in Korea is much like back home, but in reality it is way too conservative for me.

"What's your name? What is your age? Are you single?" are the standard introductory questions asked here. No problem with the first question, but the other two initially felt like an intrusion into my privacy. Though I am still averse to the last two questions as an introduction, they don't feel strange any more.

The role seniority plays in determining social order was also something I had to get used to.

An age gap of one year can change the way people address each other, whereas back home even a gap of a decade does not usually change how you talk to them. But this was something I easily adapted to.

I don't know if Korean life is better than life back home or not, but it definitely is intriguing.

Till now my Korean life has not aroused me. I am not one to marvel at the subway system, limousine buses or even the discipline exposited by Koreans in daily life -- rarely breaking the traffic laws, making a queue. I won't -- as most foreigners do -- exalt Korea in front of Koreans.

But what I do glorify is what I have learned while staying in Korea. Most, like me, would have fascinating stories of their stay here. Throughout our life we never stop learning. My time in Korea, likewise, has been another learning exercise. Every small thing, every experience in retrospect has been engrossing: buying things with inarticulate Korean, using body language, bargaining using a calculator, ordering food by pointing at a picture, and so on.

It is these things and more that will always be a part of me. Ten years hence when I listen to"Kickin' It in Geumchon," I will remember these moments.

I am lucky to have experienced the life I have in Seoul.

These may or may not be the best days of my life, but I am really glad to be living here. It's not the economic growth, skyscrapers or fancy restaurants that make my life here special; it is everyday, normal moments and enamored experiences that define Korea for me.