Today starts our volunteer projects. We split up into groups and were assigned our place for the day. We loades up in vans and set off. The bus ride was horrendous as the condition of the roads was less than adequate. About a 10min ride brought us to Ines Chambers, an orphanage for boys and girls. Our school had vsited this place all three years and we saw teh pervious work that had been done, and our chaperones saw familiar faces. We were split in two groups and our mission was to sand and paint the playground equipment. The other group did landscaping. The area around the orphange was rough, but the actual place was relatively nice. All the kids were really excited to see us there and after our work was done, we got to play and interact with them. All the girls loved Pun and his Puerto Rican accent and he actually got 3 marriage proposals. One of the girls was apparently found at age 7, eating out of a garbage dumpster. So sad and perplexing how you could treat your child that way. One of the little boys named Jonathan, took off all my jewelry and put it on him: my necklace, bracelet rings and sunglasses. He was cute and such a funny personality. Lunch was pretty gross. I really enjoyed the day and the work we completed was very fufilling. Got a lot of sun today. It was sad to leave and see all of their saddened faces. When we got back to the hotel, we had to go to a spanish lesson that was not helpful for me because it SH101 and it is my minor. We learned some of the culture and how children usually don't move out until they are married. We learned some different phrases custom to the Ecuadorian dialect. Later that night, we went to the Malecon and climbed the 444 steps to the top where we ate dinner at a replica of an old fort. The view was incredible! After a long day, it felt amazing to sleep.