I am so lucky.

The sun shines down as I attempt to confidently sidestep the incessantly beeping autos, loaded motorcycles, and haphazard ditches lining the edge of the road. Samosa vendors and chai stands splash the sidewalk and colorful saris blow in the dust swept up from shuffling feet. A mere minutes ago, I discussed the complexity of selection sort versus bubble sort with my Computational Sciences Professor from Nigeria and peers hailing from Vietnam to the U.S.; now, I am ordering MLA dosa in Hindi at my newly discovered (and current favorite) neighborhood joint — discovering that the Modern Language Association here, in Hyderabad, actually makes for a delicious upma, semolina-filled, savory and crispy “crêpe.”

I’m infinitely grateful for this opportunity to learn, in all aspects of life — from computing matrices and completing extensive research program applications on time to negotiating the cost of a “fixed price” (kuch “fixed price” nahi hai, bhaya) to translating why the SIM activation is non-functional from flabbergastingly insouciant (read: fast) Hindi into digestible American English, and adapting to the very generous use of chilies — while being supported throughout by my family, my peers, my institution’s staff and faculty, and giggling/staring strangers. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to grow amidst constant change.

This inaugurates my decision to just share out there the writings I draft(ed) when inspiration strikes, rather than posting after I have time to revise and elaborate on them (which, indeed, has yet to happen successfully). This approach, I hope, will help me develop both my writing and confidence with MVP (minimum viable product)-style work, while assigning a tad more value to these products of reflections through possible readership… Thanks to you :)