Where the Efros am I?!?!

Being in Shillong feels like I'm in another country.  No one wobbles their heads, the women don't wear bindis or saris and everyone eats with two hands (oh, the horror!!).  It was cold and rainy when we first arrived and there was a bandh (strike) so EVERYTHING was shut.  Jacob and I spent the first 2 days starving in our hotel room watching TV.  Once things started functioning again, Jacob went on to Nepal and I managed to meet a great group of people in a sort of shady way.  They've been extremely hospitable and I went with some of them to some dinner parties and a bachelor party and it's been quite the experience.  One guy, Brian, is the headmaster of a school here.  I went to school with him one morning and got to play with little 4 year olds wearing the cutest uniforms.  The school is in English so we sang songs and ran around and named body parts, etc.  It was fun.  I also visited another school for underprivileged kids where they learn skills such as crafts, cooking, carpentry and electrical work.

But the highlight was dinner at Uncle Robbins house where there was an impromptu jam session.  Everyone in Shillong plays some sort of music, but there are no music teachers or lessons and no live music venues.  So people just play at home.  During dinner one night, Keith and Jeffrey started playing guitar and, after much coaxing, an older woman (everyone just calls her 'old lady') started singing along.  At first she was singing old folk songs, which turned into singing songs such as "How much is that doggie in the window" and "she'll be coming 'round the mountain,"  and then a crazy sing along to "Goodnight Irene" where EVERYONE in the room (probably about 20 of us) were singing together.  I loved it.  But Old Lady wasn't done, she then started just singing nonsense while poor Keith and Jeffrey tried to accompany her and the rest of us pissed our pants laughing.  We also had lovely lovely food including lots of steamed veggies (I was soooo happy!!) and pork, which I ate AND enjoyed!  Local red sticky rice with mangoes finished off the meal.  And lots of homemade wine, etc.  It was a nice night.   

Continuing the weirdness, the next night was The Bob Dylan Birthday Celebration #69.  An outdoor stage was set up in the middle of a small traffic circle.  Lou Majaw (or Uncle Lou as my friends call him), clad in mismatched stripped socks and short short short denim cutoffs, praised Bob Dylan, wished him a happy birthday and then rocked out!  He sang mostly his own songs, except for Blowin' in the Wind and Knockin' on Heavens Door, which he played at least 4 times (2 of which were encores!).  He had the moves, too - marching around the stage, straddling the mic stand, throwing his hands up, taking off his shirt, etc.  At one point he put the mic in his pants!  It was pretty crowded but by a simple twist of fate (haha) I manged to run into GAPP.  It was great to see him and we were laughing and singing a lot.

It's definitely weird here and doesn't feel like India, but I'm still loving it!