Day two (28th):
so after going to bed at around 1am we awoke at 5am to see the sunrise. which didn't happen till around 7:30am. and wasn't even that great. but we had chai and breakfast to look forward to so all good.
the day was spent washing dishes after breakfast with around a hundred other indian volunteers. fun when there are that many of you.
ok, so the kitchen is open 24 hours every day of the year. it serves free food throughout as well as chai. it is all run by volunteers who make, cook and serve the food (and clean up too). it is open to everyone. all races, all religions, all everyone. it is an amzing idea. no beggars around as they can just move in (though there were suprisingly few. maybe because food is free they can save more money?). the kitchen is a big 2 story building (one floor is serving while the other is cleaned every 15 minutes) with washing and food preparation going on around it.
after washing dishes for a couple of hours we wandered the temple again and then had lunch. somehow filled the day? probably did something i can't remember. it'll come (o: me and the aussie girl did go for a wander through the streets and to visit a park. that took us a bit.
i visited the babel temple and some other sights at some stage but i can't remember when (o:
Then at night I helped serve food in the kitchen. Very fun times. me and a dutch lady i had met offered but as a woman she was not allowed to serve to the Sikh men and so she went and made chapattis instead.
I was handing out the chipattis and half the indians i was serving too were so surprised to see a westerner serving them that they forgot to even say they wanted one (o: But it was a lot of fun. i had to move up and down the aisles, saying "Pra sha da" (means food for god) and when someone wanted one they had to put their hands together (both hands) and i would drop one or two in. i knew how it went as i had of course eaten there myself. but that doesn't stop half the community trying to help you and that is where it got a little stressful towards the end. i was getting conlicting orders from all these different sikhs and so in the end i followed a boy who must have been about 9yrs around calling him 'sir' and saying he was my boss. this went down well with everyone and of course he loved it.
it was also fun to say random english phrases and see them smile and take it anyway. i was also very strict (whilst smiling) as they had been to me (without smiling) and would wait until both hands were offered before anyone got a chipatti.
then afterwards when i sat to have dinner myself (with my 'boss'), they of course all came to offer me everything under the sun and would rummage through to find me the best of each.
all in all it was again really worth it.
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