I think about my early life experiences a lot more these days, sometimes with new eyes. Side-effect of growing older? I compare and contrast—circumstances, responses, how they shaped me, where I have come now, and many other things. It makes me feel very humble and helps me accept things much more stoically. Like when I moved into my new home in the UK—would I have ever dreamt I would do a PhD in the UK or have a house over there!—so when I moved in, there was no furniture of course. Still there isn't. There was no time before my trip and there's a lot to think about before I get heavy stuff. I layered a lot of mats and bedsheets in a corner of the living room and slept on it. Funnily, you'd think with the tiny things that bother me, this would take the cake! But it actually reminded me of where I came from... in a good way I should say. It reminded me I could do and have done with so, so little. I looked at the roof, the heating, the bath, the food... and I thought, wasn't I living in literal luxury? What more could one need?

Today it was raining very heavily where I am. I have never experienced this kind of rain here in China on previous trips and certainly not in the UK. It rains all the time in the UK, but it never feels like real rain. Today there was real rain. And this rain took me back to the old days. To Mumbai. Walking, trudging, almost wading in this rain today... scared that I will fall... trying to put my feet in shallow water… but at many points the water was pretty deep on the sidewalk, with no way to flow out either side... water in my shoes, jeans all wet, hair soaked, sweat trickling... Thankfully the umbrella was big. I prayed I wouldn't slip, clumsy as I am. I couldn't help thinking how I have forgotten what real rain feels like. How battling real rain feels like. Here I was getting so worked up walking in clean rainwater and there was a time I had to face hours of jumping around dirty icky water. Rickshaws, taxis, cars, buses whooshing past drenching me in it. After long waits we somehow got into rickshaws and made our way home. It was an ordeal! Thinking about those days in the past brought me back to ground. Steadied my feet. I wasn't new to this at all... it all came back to me. I was grateful…