As I wend my way through lunch dates and post-work drinks, it occurs to me that this is undoubtedly my last chance to enjoy four weeks of carefree irresponsibility. Nine months from now I'll have completed my degree, and it will be back to the working world having reached my ultimate educational goal of a Master's.
Never to be a lazy student again. How do I take advantage of my time? By sleeping in, by spending American currency I won't touch again for nine months, by revisiting favorite bars and restaurants, and by reading.
I've just finished Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts, a purportedly true story of an Australian escaped convict who spent eight years in Mumbai as a gangster / Bollywood actor / slum doctor. From skimming the first few pages I've been recommending it left right and center to friends, but only now have I gotten a chance to finish reading. It's almost 1,000 pages long, which by the end left me wondering if anyone thought I was crazy for subjecting them to so much book. It's also the reason I had to finish quickly. I couldn't take something that big off the continent.
It was an enjoyable 1,000 pages, though, and I certainly appreciated it now on my almost one-year anniversary of my departure for Delhi. The book was so long because of the diversity of the characters, the events, and the setting. You can't consolidate such an amazing experience into any less. It's the kind of book that makes you appreciate your own cast of characters, and the way it grows and grows every year.
The best way to show that appreciation, of course, is to call up old friends and set up more lunch dates. It's good to be back, at least for a short time.
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