I got to the clinic and thankfully I was the only one there! The doctor was a little Filipina lady wearing denim shorts, flip flops, and a tshirt. She gave me my prescription and I was able to get it filled right there.
Two firsts for me: pink eye, and a doctor dressed so casually! My eye is great now.
Saturday morning I was out on the beach with a volleyball and noticed a little Ati girl hanging around some of the little boats that were pulled to shore. I first asked her if she wanted to play with the volleyball, showing her with motions because I doubt she speaks much English. She was super shy and hid behind the little boat. I sat on one side of the boat and started playing with the sand and singing "This is the Day that the Lord has Made" in a tone kind of like I was singing to myself (I felt pretty silly), and she started playing peek-a-boo around the boat. That's as far as I got with her! After a while, I finally went back to my bag for something.
Some of the other neighborhood kids were playing with the volleyball now, and at one point it bounced off and rolled to her. She gave a good kick at it and it came soaring back! Then, she went into hiding again, staying behind the boat.
Isidro, the fix-it man at the Jungle Barn, had also tried to get her to play a couple times. I don't know if it was on purpose for the girl or coincidental, but he eventually went and got a dog he's been dog-sitting to take it on a walk and the little girl suddenly came out and wanted to play with the dog! She was having a blast, and wasn't even shy towards the other Filipino kids when it became more of a small group gathering. I bet that was one of very few times that she's ever played with the local Filipinos, and who knows, maybe her first time. I LOVED to see that.
Eventually the dog got taken somewhere, and I decided to see if she'd kick the volleyball around with me for a while since she'd kicked it so well earlier. She did! That was fun for a few minutes, and then the dog reappeared and off she went again. I think she eventually just ran off and left, but it was pretty cool to see her playing while she was around. It's also rare for an Ati child to see a white person and not put on their "sad face" and stick out their hand for money. It breaks my heart that that's so ingrained in them. They may be running and playing with siblings and friends, but as soon as they see a tourist looking at them their whole demeanor changes. They learn at such a young age, too. I'm so happy this little girl got to simply enjoy some play time!
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