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.