A question regarding Japanese sentences with present tense clauses but a past tense main verb


Japanese tenses seem very different from English. Please look at this
sentence:

> 考えている最中，電話がかけられました

If translated in English, it should be:

> When I was thinking, the telephone rang

I think the front part of this sentence should be 考えていた最中。

How should I deal with Japanese tense?




考えてい **る** makes sense because 考えている is _modifying_ 最中.

Question: What kind of 最中 were you in?  
Answer: 考えている最中

