Hey folks!

We’ve pretty much gotten settled in here at Sarah, so I’m going to take the opportunity to make the next few posts about things that happened earlier in the trip that I haven't had a chance to share yet. 

On our first Friday here, the school hosted what they called a “talent show” as a way to welcome us and make us feel at home (and to give us an opportunity to perform as well—more on that later).

There were a number of performances that featured traditional Tibetan songs, dances performed by groups of men and women, and music performed on Tibetan instruments. This was probably the most educational component of the show, because even though we could not understand the words the style of the music and the dance was very distinctive. The singing is very elaborate, with some complex rhythms and very interesting vocal runs.

Probably the most common kind of performance in the show were the covers of pop songs—some Indian songs and more than a few American classics. These were funny and entertaining in all the ways that karaoke with friends can be fun, except with heavy accents and much more enthusiasm overall. As one of the honorary guests, I would like to present two special awards. First, Best in Show goes to: Where is the Love performed in full, including all the parts, with gusto by a very talented singer. Second, the award for Most Uncomfortable for All Involved goes to: Beat It performed by another equally enthusiastic though perhaps slightly less talented man.

Actually that second one was probably only uncomfortable for the few of us who actually knew what all the words meant. The older monks seemed unimpressed. Regardless, midway through these performances we were able to do our part: two songs prepared specifically for the occasion, on the day of, by a few stellar members of our program.

First, a lovely re-worded version of the Billy Joel song Piano Man (no explanation for the Tibetan bits yet, I’m saving that for a later post), and second the almost entirely original work “My Life as Rickshaw Driver,” set to the tune of Puget Sound’s alma mater, as promised in one of my previous posts:

It's 7:00 o'clock on a Friday

The Sarah students shuffle in

There's an old man sitting next to me

It’s Passang and he’s got a big grin

He says, "Let’s all join in the talent show--

I'm excited to see how it goes

And it's fun and it's sweet

And a good way to meet

So quickly our friendships will grow."

Geshe la, di da da...

Geshe la, di da da da dum...

Sing us a song for the talent show

Sing us a song tonight.

Well we're all in the mood for a melody

And you've got us feeling alright.

Now Franciscka-la is a friend of mine.

She teaches Tibetan with glee.

She told us the monkeys are friendly

but they’ll rob you blind, oh you’ll see.

(Chorus)

We say, "Julia, is this a contour line?"

Or is this just a sketch?

"Because this is my very first drawing class

And I don’t have the hang of it yet."

Now Tsetan-la’s a world-wide traveler

Who’s also a Sarah graduate’s wife.

And she's talking with Nunzan, who just got done snoozin’

And has a super cool life.

And the Tibetans are practicing philosophy

As the monks debate on the lawn

Yes they're sharing the truth from his holiness

As enlightenment is starting to dawn.

Tashi Delek at the talent show.

Tashi Delek from me.

Thanks so much for the generosity

There’s nowhere else we’d rather be.

 ------------------------------------------------------------------------

My Life as a Rickshaw Driver:

My life as a rickshaw driver

We pedal very far

My life as a rickshaw driver

We’ll take you to the stars

We pedal over mountains

And through the Delhi streets

My life as a rickshaw driver

Is really hard to beat

All hail to the rickshaw driver

All hail da-da-da-dum

All hail da-da-da-dum

To thee!

My life as a rickshaw driver

Is full of sights and sounds

My life as a rickshaw driver

Knows no holy bounds

Around the cars and cows we swerve

Through the hills we take the curves

My life as a rickshaw driver

I’ll take you anywhere

My life as a rickshaw driver

You’ll haggle for your fair

Through the honks and beeps we ride

Snuggled side by side by side

All hail to the rickshaw driver

Your very best guide!!

I hope you all enjoyed imagining what these excellent songs must have sounded like. You might think that we basically stole the show. But oh, how far from the truth that would be. The closing act of the evening was a play that may or may not have been called Buddhist Hell Part II. 

We’re not sure, because the announcing and the performance were in Tibetan. Actually, we didn’t understand any of the apparently funny jokes or very much about the plot either, so let me just state the premise and leave it to your imagination to decide what it was like. Mao, Hitler, and Osama are in the Buddhist hell, going through the violent tortures and trials they were sentenced to by Lao Tzu, who presided over the entire thing. There were beatings and screaming and caricatures and inside jokes and a good time was had by all. And there is clearly a great deal for us to learn about Tibetan humor.

That's all folks. Later I will talk about something else that stood out from our first week: the free Tibet performance art show.