8 months.

I can't believe it, but I've been in Rio for eight months now. I know that my time is ending here, and I'm trying to prepare myself to leave, but it's incredibly difficult. I've gotten used to the pace of Carioca life.

I can easily transition into and out of Portuguese, and I think that marker--my ability to speak and converse-- is perhaps my greatest indicator of how much I've changed since I arrived here. I feel comfortable giving presentations in Portuguese, and I can converse with people on many different topics. I'm far from completely fluent, but I would say that I'm conversationally adept.

There's still so much to learn about Rio and Brazil, and each day I find myself wanting to take the time to learn a bit more. It's a pity that I didn't read enough books during my past seven months-- I was too busy trying to be outdoors enjoying the sunlight.

The weather has somewhat come full circle-- I arrived wearing jackets and jeans, using my sleeping bag as a makeshift comforter. I pulled those all out again. I'm starting to think about the places I want to revisit-- I never really fell into a routine here in Brazil, with all my traveling in and out of the city, but I feel like I established some internal favorites-- my go-to farmers markets, what I like to do when it's sunny, when it's raining....

I haven't really got a bucket list, but I know I'm going to try to spend as much time outdoors as possible, soaking up the last of the South American sun. Then I'm off to India and back to New York in a sort-of whirlwind summer.... if you can believe.