
Monday, January 13 marked an important day for Bridge Year India. It was the exact halfway point of our program. On the day I write this, Monday, January 20, we have 132 days until May 31, 2020. That is:
4 months and 11 days
19 weeks
3,168 hours
190,080 minutes
11,404,800 seconds
In Udaipur we have 93 days left (not including excursions). That is:
53 more days at our service sites
14 more Wednesday Fatehsagar sunsets with Sydney
13 more post-yoga Sunday brunches in the Old City with Anna
79 more morning walks at Fatehsagar
13 more Aloo Parantha Fridays
93 more morning glasses of hot milk
106 more bike rides along Canal Road to and from Vikalp, my service site (about 466 more kilometers)
53 more Thali visits for Anna and Fernando
66 more morning bike rides with Sydney to the Program House
14 more Tuesday night calls with my mom
66 more “Good morning everyone”s from Dani
53 more times for Max to see his cow friends
265 more shared autos for Tejas to ride to work
13 more times I have to do Sunday laundry
424 more roti for Fernando to eat at Thali
132 more cups of chai in the morning
186 more servings of sub-ji to be eaten with my homestay family
93 more Subway sandwiches in Celebration Mall for Sijbren
While we still have a substantial portion of our year in India left, the end is slowly coming into sight. We have had many “firsts” on our program, with many to come. But we will soon also have many “lasts”. As each day brings us closer to our “lasts”, it is important to remind ourselves of the impermanence of our lives in Udaipur. One of my goals for the last half of the year is to appreciate the smaller moments. The moments that now seem routine and often unimportant still hold significance, though I might not learn what that significance is until much later. Despite burning my tongue on hot milk every morning, I am working to value each glass and be present, even if I am just drinking milk, because I only have 93 more.