Written By Georgia
Namaste friends and family! This is Georgia, writing to you all about our time in Amritsar. After a long train journey (from 5pm to 7pm the next day) we got to our hostel tired, but excited to explore a new city. The night we arrived, Charlotte and Amiah decided to cut their hair! Charlotte asked Owen to cut her hair with a dull pair of scissors from the front desk, and we all piled into the bathroom to watch, while Zevi played cameraman. Next, Charlotte chopped Amiah’s hair off while she ate some maggi. Their short hair really suits them both!
The following day we visited the beautiful Golden Temple and volunteered in different areas. Some of us shucked chickpeas, while others helped wash dishes. We continued to volunteer doing various tasks at the temple over the next three days, except for Olivia, who was, unfortunately, feeling under the weather, but is now feeling much better. One night, Kari, Charlotte, and I helped wash dishes with ash. Ash has antibacterial properties and is great for cleaning. We all agreed that our time volunteering was fun and quite meditative.
One afternoon, Adam and Rebecca took us to the Partition Museum, where we learned about the India-Pakistan Partition. It was very interesting to learn about what people went through, and the roles that Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs played. On one of our last days in Amritsar, Adam took the group to the India-Pakistan border to watch the changing of the guards. He described it as a cross between a parade and a football game, which was oddly exactly how it felt.
We are now in Bhagsu enjoying our week of student-directed travel! Talk to ya’ll soon!