#bigwa

After the feast, we went back to our hostel. I tried to take a nap, but Catherine was around and insisted on playing, so that's what happened instead.

In the late afternoon, we went to a farewell celebration put on by the students. First, a large group sang and danced for us (I have some video I will put up next).

Next, they put on an outrageous play. It involved the devil and an exorcism. The moral was to worship the one true god, but all I got from it was the devil character smacking down the preacher character. It was pretty wild, and all the girls had a blast putting it on and/or watching it. 

After the performance, we all sang the Tanzanian  national anthem. The students danced some more, then pulled us all in with them. We sang and danced and took pictures for a while.

After we came back from the orphanage, the nuns and staff at Bigwa threw us a party/feast at the nuns' house.

When we got there, they were still preparing the food, so we waited in the living room. Most of us were a little bit tired...

...so those who could find a spot on the couch took a nap. I was a tad late and didn't find a good resting spot, so I went outside to play with the nuns' kittens. It was a good trade-off...

When dinner was prepared, we all went to the dining room. A few of the Bigwa staff talked to us before we ate. They were all very thankful for having us there. One guy (I think he was the head of the school, although he might have been the priest; it's possible that he was both) told us that saying "Thanks" means that you are asking for something more. That being said, he said "thanks" and told us he'd love if we could stay for a year. I only wish I could have...kind of. I definitely wish the trip was longer, but I was starting to miss home, especially my friends, my lizard, and my ipod. I think that if I had planned and mentally prepared for a year long trip, then I would have loved to stay. But we all appreciated the gesture and thanked them for their wonderful hospitality.

Then, all of the nuns and staff entered the room, singing and dancing in a kind of conga line. While doing this, they gave each one of us a beautiful wrap/sari. It was very touching. And it was hilarious watching the nuns, including the American nuns, dancing and singing.

Then we ate. It was an absolute feast. We had the best pieces of chicken yet on the trip, little beef pockets, pork bites, rice, watermelon, cookies and soda. It was a great way to end the trip.

Most of these are my friend Waynetta's pictures, but they're so good and they bring back so many fond memories I wanted to share.

To start, here are a few pics of Catherine the Great, our lovable village mascot...

And now a bunch of random pictures of awesome people, mostly Bigwa students and some girls from Unitas, the village next to Bigwa where we stayed...