Everyone who knows me well enough has heard this story multiple times. It’s an important part of my identity, and something I think about frequently as a new parent.

My childhood was characterized by movement - my father worked as an officer in the Indian Diplomatic corps, and we moved to different countries in three year stretches until I was 18, when I settled in Canada.

I was born in New Delhi, India in July of 1981. When I was an infant, we moved to Copenhagen, Denmark. My parents tell me I spoke Danish pretty well but I remember none of it.

The next post was Lilongwe, Malawi, a small country above South Africa. I started school in Malawi at a British School.

In 1991, we moved to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This was the time of the first Gulf War. It was a scary time to live in the region, in the shadow of constant scud missile attacks.

In 1994 we returned to New Delhi and spent 2 years at an Army School.

Following that was 3 years in Manila, Philippines, where I started high school at the incredible International School of Manila.

I arrived in Toronto, Canada in 1997. I moved out and went to university and after 3 years, my parents continued their travels and went to Ethiopia, Ottawa and Brasillia. I visited them frequently wherever they were, but eventually settled and became a Citizen in 2013.

I love Toronto and Canada and the fact that it provides exposure to so many cultures. That said, I always appreciated the depth of cultural diversity in my childhood - especially so now that I’m a parent myself.