This was my first celebration of Inti Raymi. This is an old Incan celebration of the sun god "Inti" that is still celebrated in the Andean regions of Ecuador. A few Peace Corps Volunteer friends and I packed into the tiny house of a fellow volunteer to celebrate Inti Raymi with her indigenous Kichwa community. This photo is of me and a local community member. She is making sure my belt is on as tight as possible so my wool skirts wouldn't fall down. She dressed all six of us PCVs and was quite worried our skirts my fall off resulting in extreme embarrassment. Fortunately, nothing of the like happened. We paraded down the mountain into Cotacachi and danced for hours with the other communities representing our adopted community Morochos. We danced to thank the sun god for good weather and Pachamama (Mother Earth) for the harvest. It was the first time in my life I felt not only connected to the earth but also to an entirely different culture.