What in the WORLD am I doing in Peru???

So I figured I'd take a minute and fill you guys in on what exactly I am doing here in Peru for three months. I am volunteering with Awamaki, a nonprofit that works with indigenous women in the local Andean communities to create economic well-being. The women in the cooperatives (knitting, weaving, spinning) are given training and offered support on how to use their skills to be able to provide a sustainable income for themselves and their families. Their products are then sold in the Awamaki Fair Trade store here in Ollantaytambo and online. I will be helping mainly with merchandising for the store here in town and provided support where needed for the the rest of the Women's Cooperatives Department. Awamaki has two other departments including Sustainable Tourism that sets up homestays and tours to the public and Education that partners with a few other organizations in town to provide training to the community- helping in the schools systems and offering English and other classes to locals.
Ollantaytambo is a very interesting town. It has a rich cultural history and is centrally located between Cusco (the airport) and Aguas Calientes (the town at the base of Machu Picchu). It is known as the Inca capital city and is the gateway to the Andean communities that are amoung some of the last to speak the ancient Inca language Quechua. The language was banned from public use in the religious and political sects after the Spanish conquest. Most of the women in the Andean communities only speak Quechua while the men may speak some Spanish. Awamaki works with several of these Quechua communities and I will be visiting their weaving cooperative this weekend for several days. The altitude in Patacancha is much higher than Ollanta (9,160 ft vs 12,600 ft) so that should be fun!
I am very excited to be here and be immersed in the culture. I am living with a local Peruvian family and will be taking Spanish classes to improve my I feel like I get to play anthroplogist for a few months and am thrilled! Plus anyone who knows me well knows my insane love for textiles, especially handcrafted ones, and they are EVERYWHERE here. I dont think I brought a big enough backpack for all the pretty things I am seeing! I guess I will add self-control to the growing list of things I will be learning here!!