A Dusty Struggle
You might wonder what my first challenge was after relocating to India. Well, it was none other than the relentless onslaught of dust! Seriously, it’s like dust is a national treasure here. No matter where you hide, it finds you. My nose and lungs have been archenemies with dust since forever. During Diwali cleaning, I’d inevitably inhale so much dust that I’d end up bedridden for days, wheezing and sneezing like a busted harmonica—borderline asthma, you might say.
Sure, I could handle short visits to India while living in the US, but relocating permanently was a whole new level of warfare. I tried to cope by carrying a mask everywhere, but it wasn’t always practical. Sometimes I’d forget, and sometimes I’d run out of masks, leaving me to face the dust apocalypse unarmed.
And then, after a decade of peace, the wheezing episodes returned with a vengeance like an unwelcome sequel. In the US, my nostrils and lungs were living a happy life, except for that one Arctic blast in New Jersey when the cold was so brutal that my lungs threw a tantrum, resulting in an acute bronchospasm and a dramatic trip to the emergency room. Why dramatic, you ask? Well, the roads were buried under fresh snow which hadn’t been cleared yet, and calling an ambulance would’ve meant a long wait. So, I begged my roommate to drive me to the nearest hospital ASAP. His Mustang decided to have its own winter meltdown, getting stuck in the snow with tires slipping like they were on an ice rink. And there I was, gasping for breath, having to get out and push the car from behind in the middle of the road, playing the roles of both the patient and the tow truck. Other than that, I had almost forgotten about my dust allergy—until India reminded me in the most emphatic way possible!
But wait, it wasn’t just me facing challenges—even my fancy gadgets and beloved shoes were also on their knees, begging for mercy. Back in the US, my shoes lived a pampered life, never needing more than a gentle wipe from birth to retirement. But in India? Let’s just say they were getting more attention than a toddler with sticky chocolate hands!
