A Lifetime a Day..

I can't believe that my time here is coming to an end.. I only officially have 22 days left in India before I take off back to Canada. I know that I'll be back here (at Christmas, and probably next summer..) but I don't think I'll ever be back here in quite the same capacity - or for the same length of time. (9 months!). There is irrifutable evidence that once you come to India, you'll never return in the same state as you were - India changes you too much, whether for the good, or the bad. You never fit the same perameters again.

Lately, I've been dwelling on all the things that I haven't had a chance to do while I'm here. (It always seems like there will be so much more time - until time is suddenly at a premium, and I never seem to have enough money to buy more.) So, for my own peace of mind, I've decided to put down, for posterity, (which I think sound too much like posterior, and reminds me I should get to the gym today..) what I have done in this part of the world.

• walked barefoot through the Taj Mahal - twice
• rafted the "Holy River Ganga" in the Himalayan Mountains
• travelled for 8 days, and up 6500 ft into Manali in the Himalayas
• survived a 17 hour bus ride from Manali to New Delhi on an Indian Bus careening through the mountains at mach speed.
• ridden atop an elephant up to an ancient fort
• lived on a boat and recieved my advanced open water diver for scuba diving (in Myanmar/Burma)
• did a 30 minute night dive, dove to 30 metres, and learned underwater navigation..(not all on one dive) (in Myanmar)
• climbed Sigiriya Rock (in Sri Lanaka)
• visited a tea plantation and drank the best cup of tea of my life (in Sri Lanka)
• fed a baby elephant a bottle of milk (in Sri Lanka)
• been to 4 countries - Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, India (and hopefully Pakistan soon!)
• seen a huge number of World Heritage Sites

When I list them out like that - they just seem like so much less than their worth as a whole - how they've changed me. Of course, the things you learn completeing these adventures are far more valuable.. well, than anything. Like the fact that I now know that I can survive on dahl and chapatis for 8 days. That I can sleep on dirty sheets, not take a shower, and still enjoy travelling. (Me!) And the little things you do in between these things - I've sat on a rock in a Himalayan waterfall, surrounded by Nepalese goat herders and white long haired goats with blue eyes - and knit myself a scarf. I've stopped for chai in the middle of the night to sit with an Israeli, a Briton, a French girl and an Australian and watched Hindi Kung-Foo movies. I learned to tie a sari and dance like an Indian. I can speak a passable ammount of the language.

I'm proud of myself for what I've accomplished here, for the limits I've pressed myself to - for seeing what I do everyday - and keeping my eyes open. Sure - I've got 22 days left here. But in this country? In 22 days, you can live, and learn, a lifetime.