Today was a very slow day at the hospital. We only had about 6 kids this morning so I was able to play with this one little girl in the morning doing puzzles and teaching another girl how to play Uno. We usually have 20 or more kids. This one kid said he has been in the hospital for several weeks now, but not sure what is wrong with him. I also was able to talk to
Victor and Auria, the other volunteers, to learn more about Ecuador. They said the people of Ecuador don't have to pay health insurance and the hospitals are free here; the government pays for the hospital. The universities are also free except for the private ones. I told them what I do in the US, and they were both shocked that mental health and suicide is such a huge issue with little kids. The afternoon was a bit busier, but I left at 3:00 pm since there were many other volunteers helping. I played foozeball with this young boy who was extremely shy. He told me he didn't want me to leave when I did that afternoon probably because we played foozeball for an hour and he loved when I yelled, "goallllllllll."

I met with Michelle, my roommate, to head over to the Mercado Artesanal, which was this huge market with hundreds of vendors. I ended up purchasing a small purse and earrings. We then went out to Cafe Galleria again since the food and ambiance is wonderful. I had the regular ceviche, juice and cheese platter. It was an early evening. Tomorrow I'm meeting with Lauren to check out the Equator after my last day of volunteering. I'm going to miss the hospital and all the people that I've met there. So glad I had this opportunity though as the minimum time to work at the hospital was one week. Adios for now!