Photographer : missfiorella @flickr.com
5:30 am - Wake up to a cold Perth morning. It was not the start I had hoped for but I showered, dressed and consumed my meagre breakfast before jumping in the car and heading to Burswood.
6:40 am - Arrived at Burswood and tried to find my group for volunteering. The tour of the Dalai Lama was to be supported by numerous volunteers and as the last visit to Perth was 6 years ago, sign-ups were fulfilled months before his holiness' arrival. I was to join the merchandising group where we would sell books, dvds, clothing and gift items that were the financial support to making the whole tour free for people to listen to the Dalai's talks on Buddhism and Enlightenment.
8 am - We finally get into action with the Merch stands opening up missing all the visitors who had lined up and entered the dome an hour before! Resembling something more like a Canberra day the open trailer where I was positioned acted as a bit of an esky keeping the chilly winds in but luckily keeping the rain out!
12 am-pm - The first visitors file out of the dome and we had a bit to do, selling what books and clothing we had that hadn't been poached for the inside stalls who were doing a roaring trade.
12:30 - Our shift finished and we made our way into the dome for yummy curries and noodles.
4pm - After warming myself up with a walk around the city I headed back to the dome where I and the other volunteers got to see his holiness and other speakers offer their takes on world affairs. It was great to see the Dalai who made wise cracks to different questions such as global warming responding "how would I know, I'm not a scientist"! He certainly did have a way with the people keeping everyone entertained.
My volunteering was part of my work places' community project for which we donate hours to a different social issue each year as well as different events that may need our assistance.
