Hello dear readers,
Well...here it is, my last full day in Trichy. It was definitely a full one, and I am very sad that this trip is coming to an end so quickly. I feel like I will take the skills and memories with me the rest of my life - a truly life changing experience. So without further ado, my last day!
First, Alex, Dr. Rohini and I visited the Mount Tabor mission hospital located just outside of Trichy. Dr. Rohini told us that this set up is very similar set up to what would be seen in a government hospital, which we were not able to see on this trip, so I was glad I got to at least get a feel for what a government hospital would be like.
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| The outside of Mount Tabor Hospital |
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| The mens ward at the hospital |
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| The hospital lab |
I have many other pictures of the hospital that I will be sure to upload to the blog and explain better. In short, the hospital is associated with christianity, though we were unsure which exact faith, though there were nuns (this was the first time I had EVER SEEN A NUN IN REAL LIFE) who showed us their convent along with the rest of the hospital. This mission hospital is mostly an orthopedic hospital, but does contain specialists ranging from OB/GYN to dermatology. They all work in the same hospital and people from more of the rural areas go there for care. Seeing the hospital was a great experience, and really rounded out my healthcare "tour" I think. I just want to take a a quick minute and thank Dr. Rohini from the bottom of my heart. She has done so much for all of us and has set up so many wonderful experiences that we otherwise would not have gotten to see. She is absolutely wonderful and I will miss her dearly!
After Mount Tabor I had a short time to shadow for the last time at Janet Nursing Home. I only got to see some OP patients before Alex came in to get me for lunch, but before we left we were able to get many pictures with all the wonderful nurses who taught me so much culture and were so friendly and sweet to me while I was at Janet.
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| Alex and I and the nurses (from left to right) Rahila, Sophia and Saranya |
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| The nurses Saranya, Sophia and Vijaya (Dr. Victorias nurses) and I |
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| Alex and I along with the wonderful reception nurses. |
At the end of our picture taking though, Isabella, one of the nurses that speaks little english. stood me in front of the very large mural of Jesus with the little children and just said in a very commanding voice "You take picture, Jesus" So I thought that meant "Oh, she's taking a picture of the jesus mural before we go" But apparently she had other intentions, and so this picture was taken.
Anyway. I was very sad to leave them, but I have their contact info and will be sure to keep in touch!
We then had one of our last Indian lunches, which was actually a Thai/Italian mix, with alfredo noodles and spring rolls. It was delicious nonetheless. We then went for a round table session with the MSW students at Bishop Heber College! It was really really cool, we talked about the education system here and in India, social work, marriage, the caste system, and many more topics. I should have pictures from this tomorrow hopefully, though I will not be able to post anything till I am back in the states. Regardless, it was an awesome experience, and I think if we had done this session earlier, we would have definitely made some awesome friends!
After that we topped off our evening with another, more traditional Indian wedding! We started off by seeing the ceremony in Dr. Ravi's church that his father started and built (this was another awesome Stephen excursion, again, the Stephens are amazing)
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| Here is the church the couple was married in |
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| Here is the reception. A little different than from back home |
The ceremony part of the wedding was very similar to american christian weddings (except this one was all in Tamil) but the reception is slightly different. There are still toasts and the cutting of the cake, but the couple is on this stage the entire time, standing. And this couple has to greet and thank and take pictures with each and every person/family that lines up to see them. Once the guests pay their respects, they go upstairs to a separate room and eat. When you aren't eating at the reception, you are watching the reception go on theatre style. It was really neat to be able to experience though. We also got to eat at the reception, banana leaf and all! They serve you on your big banana leaf these portions of curd rice, mutton byriani, chicken and some sort of curry gravy. They come around with these HUGE tin buckets giving you portions of food. And, in the traditional Indian way, you eat with your hands, or right hand specifically. So I got to eat rice and gravy and curd rice all with my hands! It was super cool!
We then ended our day by visiting our favorite ice cream place, Ibaco for the last time. I got mango ice cream (of course)
Tomorrow, Dawn and I are getting up early to see Trichy's famous rock fort! I can't wait to see it and take lots of pictures, but sadly this may be my last blog post before leaving India. This time flew so fast and I am definitely in no state to leave, but maybe I will visit again some day! I am definitely not done posting, as there are some pictures and stories and aspects of Indian life I want to talk about, but have not had the time to really write about.
Well, till next time, Poitu Varen!
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