I am a thoroughly whitewashed Indian. Not because I dislike my culture but because it is hard not be Americanized when you've surrounded by white friends since sixteen; through high school, undergrad, masters and a couple of years after that. My favorite music is alt rock and Beethoven, and I wear polos and khakis. Yep, totally whitewashed. Did I say I played tennis?

I moved to a dusty but pretty, coastal city of India in the summer of 2016. I was 27 and very single. The weather was hot and languid, but the view of the sun's glaring reflection off the surface of a vast dark blue ocean, from the balcony of my air-conditioned condo, was breathtaking. I loved sitting on my wooden chaise in the verandah and read a book on my kindle, as I was buffeted by the cool evening breeze that swept around the nearby hills and blew parallel to the rocky beach.