winter time

It is, without a doubt, winter time here in Ecuador. This means rain (FINALLY) and heat. I am feeling quite at home in the humidity. Unfortunately, wintertime also means that there are SO MANY BUGS. Last night it was really hot so I slept without a sheet on top of me, and I woke up with at least 50 more mosquito bites on my legs. Tonight I will wear bug spray to bed. 

It is kind of amazing to me that Portoviejo is able to function year after year in the wintertime. It has just begun and already the streets are FULL of mud. Everything that was dust is now mud and it is gross. I am considering buying some rubber boots for when I want to leave the house and don’t want to get dirty. Until now the only sort of footwear I have worn have been flip flops, and those are not so much fun when the streets are full of mud.

I have now taught Ricardo three card games, and we play, at least once, every day. He knows ‘Go Fish’, ‘Old Maid’, and a game that a Swiss girl taught me that is apparently called ‘Asshole’ that we have renamed as ‘Galleta’ (cookie) in Spanish. :) I am really going to miss him when I change houses.

Today I went with a group of med school students and recent graduates to a village about 35 minutes away from Portoviejo. They were holding a one-day free clinic thing for the children in the town. The doctors saw between 90 and 100 kids, and all of the medicines that were prescribed were free, as long as we had them. It was nice to be in such a hands-on position helping this community. I was dedicated as the master weigh-er and height-take-er, so I’m really good at that now.

I also weighed myself for the first time in 5 months. I didn’t eat dinner tonight. :)

There will not be any pictures for a while. My camera is not working. :(