Far too sad to come up with a clever title

Last day of work 

Today was our last full day in Trichy so we managed to pack in a lot of activities.  Dr. Rohini took Danielle and I to a mission hospital today to see another perspective of medicine in India.  The hospital was a bit out of town and serves mostly impoverished patients- so the set-up is similar to a regular hospital but with more group wards (many patients in one room).

The women's group ward

Just posted this one for you Jac

We also toured the convent near the hospital where many of the hospital Nuns live.
We wrapped up the morning at all of our respective hospitals and clinics and said our goodbyes to the wonderful nurses and doctors that have made us feel so at home here.

I snuck back into Janet Nursing Home to say Hello to my favorite nurses!

After a delicious lunch, we met with a group of 20 MSW (Masters in Social Work) students for a round table discussion on our different cultures.  It was really neat to just get to talk with students our own age- we covered all sorts of topics (from education reform to arranged marriages) and had a great time.

We finished the day with a wedding! Dr. Ravi's nephew was getting married and they graciously invited us along.  The whole service was in Tamil so we weren't entirely sure what was happening but all of the classic wedding songs gave us some clues!  Afterwards, we went to the reception.  The reception is very different than what we are used to.  Although it was a Christian wedding, many of the wedding traditions are based in Hinduism so it was really awesome to see.  The reception was essentially an auditorium filled with chairs where over 300 guests (what Dr. Rohini called "a small family affair" ) sat and waited to give their respects to the newlyweds.  People waited in line then walked up on the stage and gave the couple a gift, a blessing, a kind word, or all of the above.

The couple posed for pictures with over 300 guests

Then they had their picture taken and left.  Upstairs of the reception hall was where dinner took place.  Because of the massive amounts of people at Indian weddings (some have over 1000 guests), dinner is eaten in shifts.  As is common in South Indian, all of the meals were served on large banana leaves.  The food was delicious, as always, and served out of big buckets.  It was really fun to be a part of and we are so grateful to have been invited.
Afterwards, I had to say my goodbyes to the Stephens.  I had a hard time not crying but they hope to visit the states some time in the future--so that gives me something to look forward to!  We ended the night by eating our sorrows at our favorite ice cream place.  Tomorrow, we all board an afternoon plane to Chennai before going our separate ways.  Emily and Danielle are headed back to North Carolina and Dawn and I are flying further north to New Delhi.  Dawn and I are going to spend the next few days being total tourists and seeing all of the biggest tourist attractions in India. I am headed back to the States on Wednesday, July 3rd.  I am not sure if I will have wifi once we arrive in Delhi but I will try my best to post an update about our travels as often as I can.  I am missing you all and looking forward to seeing you soon!

The wonderful Dr. Ravi and Dr. Rohini Stephen after the wedding