where my music's playing

i always write my location at the beginning of journal entries. it took me a few weeks to deem mt. hermon, apartment three my home. i don't know if i needed to re-decorate the room with red and orange decor, sit on the roof in contemplation, dance in the living room with my friends, design the ideal running route, cook a successful meal in the kitchen, hang pictures of the ones i love over my bed or have many-a heart-to-heart conversations (punctuated by laughter and tears) on the couch.









my newest home sits nearly at the top of the highest peak in mussoorie. i fancy going for morning runs watching the sun, occasionally in brilliant rays of fluorescent pink and orange that aren’t rationally found in nature, come over the snowy peaks in the distance. on sunday afternoons my roommates and i set up camp on the roof, grading papers, writing lessons and listening to music with mountains and clouds as our backdrop(the first picture was taken on the roof at sunrise... the last at sunset). this sunday we spent part of the afternoon watching the langurs (big, gray monkeys) bounding from tree to tree while we sang “at the zoo” by simon and garfunkel.

jamie and i share a two-room apartment with a little bakari (wood-burning stove) to keep us warm. and we all share a sun room, kitchen and (as there is no furniture) a dance-party area. these are my roommates, joanna, kathlynn, jamie and ethan at our most recent theme party—the most awesomely bad shirt in the bazaar for under 100 rupees. here’s us plus brian and laura, mt. hermon regulars, cooking dinner. suffice it to say, it’s like a dorm (but nicer) on top of a mountain. the only downside is that it’s about 1,000 feet higher than campus, which makes for a sometimes grueling walk following a day of work (though part of the drudgery is offset by the joy of developing a mountain butt). we also occasionally have monkey situations.

yesterday i got off of ethan’s motorcycle to open the gate on our way home from school. when i looked up toward the house, i remembered an email addressed to the entire woodstock community-- monkey catchers had been dispatched to ward off the hoards of rhesus. apparently, every monkey on the mountain had convened at mount hermon. without exaggeration, 30 monkeys had overtaken our yard. ethan drove forward to frighten the creatures, sending them bounding into the trees. i walked slowly, hesitant to approach the remaining monkeys. as i passed the water tank i felt a jolt—a monkey had jumped onto my backpack in an attempt to steal my grapes. i violently jerked from side to side, sending the monkey flying, and bolted into the house. sure am glad that woodstock ordered the monkey catchers.