I can't believe I've been here for 6 years. Neither can I believe I am 6 years older than what I was when I came here. 6 feels like a significant number, closer to a decade.
I've come to really appreciate this city. It's given me a good job, a good home, access to some of the best restaurants, a wonderful pet, a multi-cultural set of colleagues and neighbors. It's given me financial freedom to travel wherever I want. The beaches are splendid, perfect for swimming. I have learnt to embrace slow life (and I think it is a privilege to be able to embrace the slow life).
I couldn't ask for more.
Okay, if I could ask for more, I would probably ask for more rain. The summer heat doesn't bother me as much as the lack of rain does. Growing up in tropical Kerala, monsoons were a part of our lives. I feel like that's a big aspect of my life that's missing. The lovely beaches and the vast deserts do somehow make up a little, but I think nothing beats cloudy grey skies, petrichor, the feel of rain on windows, skin, car. But I'm still grateful for everything.
Hopefully to another few good years here, of seeing camels in the desert and of swims in the tranquil sea.
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