June 29th- Day four

After a closely contested soccer game in the town stadium, which was organized by Pancho, one of our hosts, we returned to El Tambo to pack and be united with our host families.  They arrived at 6:00, and we drank Inca Cola and ate cake before the official introductions were made.  Soon afterwards we departed for night with our host families.

Will meets his younger sister Dora and his host mother.

Group photo at El Tambo just before we left with our host families.

Hola amigos! Malik here, live from Ollantaytambo, Peru! Last night was our first night with our home stays. My family is really nice. I have an eight year old brother named Emilio, a 20-something year old sister named Pilar, and 3 other siblings that are older than me but haven't met. My family owns a bakery, and I have been eating tons of bread. I might even get to bake some with them! Today, my day started around seven. I went to mass at the nearby church. I thought I had this Spanish mass thing in the bag, but I forgot that they spoke Quechua so I didn't understand everything. After mass, I had oatmeal and fresh baked bread. From there, our group went to a festival called the Ollantay Raymi. It was the reenactment what some would call the Peruvian Romeo and Juliet. It took place on the actual ruins of Ollantaytambo. There was music, dance, love, war, comedy, and everything that makes for a great soap opera. After the festival, we walked back to have lunch. On the way back, I saw my best friend Miguel, who I met two days ago. He sells necklaces and I bought a crocodile tooth necklace from him. He is really nice, though he knows more about me than I do about him... probably not a good thing :/. Anyways, we came and had a feast in honor of this festival (And maybe Mr. Pomeroy's birthday, too?) with our families. I tried guinea pig for the first time. I have got to say, it was pretty good, though I think not everybody agrees. After that, I went back home and played around with the little ones. I think I might have given them a sugar rush on American candy... but it is not my fault because they wanted the candy and who am I to stop them. Tomorrow will be our first day working at the Rumira school, helping rebuild their playground. I can't wait to see what else Peru has in store!

Ollantay Raymi Ceremony