Almost at the end of my sophomore year, we moved to Chicago, Illinois. My family and I have moved almost every year since fourth grade. We have lived in London, India and we are currently residing in Chicago. .
In the middle of fourth grade we decided to move to London, United Kingdom as my dad was deputed by Government of India for a research project. I did not take kindly to the fact that I would be leaving Delhi, the only place I had known as home. Much to my chagrin, we moved, and so the journey began for a frightened kid leading to the unknown. .
We stayed a year or so in London and it wasn't as bad as I had expected. Acculturation was easy but perhaps that was due to the innocence of a small child. The world was just black and white to me. Making friends and adjusting to a new place is a breeze when you are a kid but relatively much harder as you get older. .
Four years of my childhood, since fourth grade was spent in London, although we had returned briefly to Gujarat in India for a year. That again was a new experience altogether. I had grown up in Delhi and had never realized that there could be so much of a cultural difference between two places in the same country. Adjusting in Gujarat was not so easy as I had grown a little older with perhaps a few strong views on life. However, adjusting didn't take too long. On reflection, befriending in London was much easier because there was no communication barrier. Learning Gujarati was a challenge but was rewarding since apart from its own worth, it also helped me make friends. After a year or so when I started feeling comfortable and attached, we had to move back to London.
A month into my eighth grade and my father excitedly broke the news that his project completion was accepted and that we have to return to India. Even though for the past several years I had been nostalgic about the place where I had spent my early formative years, things were different now.
