The beginning of a beautiful and incredible journey ...

Its saturday the 5th of February and I'm alone at home. All the girls went to Puno for the carnival and will be back on sunday night. I'm wearing my bikini and relaxing like a phyton in our roof terrace.The sun is out, the sky is blue and the bulls, the chickens and llamas are looking happier than ever. The chickens have a hollywood smile, so white that I need to wear my sunglasses or they will dazzle me ! I have a huge breakfast of banana and watermelon with a nice african bush tea. I love my bush and I'm not refering to that one between my legs!

A. stole my heart as soon as I held him in my arms

We had a party for the kids yesterday, I was wearing the outfit of a clown but twenty minutes later , I had to take it off cause the kids threw ballons filled with water at me and I was wet from head to toe. They were having fun so they filled 2 buckets of freezing water from the well & had the brilliant idea to pour the buckets on my head as I was filling the other bucket to do the washing up. Bear in mind that San Isidro is up in the mountains so the water from the well is freezing and I almost had pneumonia he he

looking sexier than ever - time to make the kids smile

We had so much fun though, we had some food, we danced, we played and it was so lovely to see the kids smiling and having a good time. I'm not sure how many kids we have all together 30/40. Some of them are unable to attend our classes cause they help their parents to make terracotta bricks and work. They have a tough life. They are so young and beautiful. I remember all their names already and a couple of them have stolen my heart already. They come at 9am, hug you, kiss you on the cheeks and say hello and they do exactly the same when they leave.They need love, affection and human touch and somehow I can relate to that cause I'm alone here and I miss a warm hug and human touch. I love talking and the locals are very warm and friendly, I talk to people in the supermarket, bus conductors or down the streets. I hug them, kiss them on the cheeks and admire them for the determination and courage they have. Life is tough around here, the percentage of people unable to write and read is scary. Education is the key for a better future but when your stomac is empty, hunger prevails education and unless you walk in their shoes you can only imagine what it feels like but you will never be able to understand. I blow my 2 weeks food budget when one of the kids at Intiwawa tells me that they didn´t have any food for a couple of days. I go to the supermarket and buy 3 bags of food and take the bus to San Isidro in the afternoon. I will have to eat plain rice for two weeks now cause I blew my budget but the smile on their faces is priceless so I forget what I will be eating for the next two weeks and I go home happier than ever. The girls at home are going out once again but I have no money so I don´t join them. They probably think I´m anti-social as I never tell them that I used the money I had for someone who needed more than I did.

heavy lifting - I will need physiotherapy he he he

I have been in Peru for less than 2 weeks now, I cannot believe how different my life is now and after spending time with these kids, I know why I left my job, my house and my life in London. I knew it before coming but I'm now certain that when I woke up on the 5th of November and made the decision to leave everything I had behind, it was a wise decision. I don't know what life has in store for me but I know that these people have already made a huge impact in my life. I hope this is just the beginning of a beautiful and incredible journey ....

an ordinary girl in extraordinary circumstances