Tusú rukù suey'chis!

"Buenos dias Señorita" accompanies a light rapping on my tent flap. I unzip my door to greet two smiling faces, one with a kettle of hot water and the other with a selection of tea bags, coca leaves, hot chocolate and sometimes even coffee. This is our wake-up call in the village of Socma, around 7am allowing us to ease into the day with a warm cuppa (that is if we've managed to sleep through villagers passing by and any number of donkeys, horses, sheep, roosters, dogs and cows trumpeting the morning news). It's a wonderful way to start a day.

Due to said natural alarm clocks, I'm usually awake and I'll take my tea out into the sunshine (once I manage to extract myself from my ultra cozy sleepingbag) and greet the kids as they one by one shuffle to the bathroom and into breakfast. We've hired a couple locals to cook our meals, Socma has many men that work as porters and cooks on the various incan trails during the tourist season as there is not much opportunity for employment this far off the beaten path - and the food is excellent.

Food is in fact a major part of the day here. After morning tea and breakfast, the kids are provided a snack, something like fruit and cookies, to take with them while they work. We've paired two kids with one family and the families usually share a 'snack' as well which can consist of anything from dried corn, beans, eggs on up to a plate loaded with meat, potatoes and pasta. Around noon, the kids return for a hearty lunch starting with soup, then around 5:30pm is afternoon tea with crackers/cookies/fried cheese pockets/popcorn etc and finally dinner around 7:30, which again starts with soup, main course and a dessert. Needless to say, the kids never get a chance to get hungry.

As a T.C. however, we get additional 'treats'. T.C., meaning Trip Coordinator, is not my official title but a Peruvian (maybe South American?) term that entitles me to certain perks such as a free meal when we take the kids to a restaurant, free room in the hotels we stay and even for example, if all of my kids buy hats at a certain shop, they will throw in an extra for me. I have yet to try out that last one, but apparently it's fairly common.

Each day, as I climb to the students houses to check in on them, (a serious workout by the way on the complex system of 'paths' that seem to reinvent themselves each night like Pan's Labyrinth) the altitude and severe incline ensure that I am gulping oxygen by the time I get there and more often than not I am invited to partake in a meal. It is not only an insult to say no, but also to leave food on your plate, never mind that it might be your 6th meal of the day and its barely 3pm. Usually, I can hardly look at the mound of food on my plate let alone consume it. I have a problem.

The other day though, I came up with a sollution. It was one of the Señora's birthday and they were throwing a fiesta. Confetti sprinkled everywhere, music playing and guinea pig, among other things heaped on a plate for me right after lunch and a snack at the previous house. I knew I was in trouble. I picked at the food, delicious as it was, making sure they saw me enjoying it and wondered how I would possible clear my plate. Suddenly, it dawned on me, I asked Max, our local guide how to say this in Quechua and I stood up to exclaim "Tusú rukù suey'chis!" (Let's dance!). The birthday girl jumped up, already fairly drunk off chicha, the local corn brew and joined me, spinning and stomping with a giant grin. It worked! I pulled the kids into the fray and the rest clapped to the beat... ahh, it was one of those moments that will forever be with me. It may not work every time, but I'm keeping it up my sleeve ;).

The kids work hard every day constucting their guinea pig coops together with their Socma families. They mix mud with their feet, fashion adobe bricks (weighing about 45lbs when dry), carry and place the bricks to form the walls and sections of the coop and apply the mud mortar. They peel bamboo and set the roof tiles in place and when not building they shuck corn in the community fields, learn how to sew traditional dolls (a new womans initiative in Socma) and cut alfalfa to dry for their guinea pigs. They've also taught for a day in the local school, played soccer with the villagers (our tents are set up between the school and the field) and even frisbee or catch with a softball (yes that was my addition ;) At night, which comes early as the hills tightly embrace little Socma, we've played plenty of catchphrase and card games - it's a great life.

We have now finished our service in Socma, with a great ceremony 'christening' the new coops. It was a wonderful day and I'll write more on that in future entries. Today is our last day of camping with a Pacha Manca (traditional feast) and several important guests (like the Mayor of the Sacred Valley) and tomorrow we travel to Aguas Calientes, which is at the base of... Machu Picchu! Sunday will be my first visit to this majestic wonder of the world and I am very excited!

Hugs to all my friends and family - hopefully pics to come soon!