amazing

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My God, I cant believe how beautiful the ruins area! We are in Tikal, the largest city of the Mayans. The temples we have been climbing are hundreds of feet in the air, with often steep stairs leading up, almost like climbing a ladder. These people lived a thousand years ago, sacrificed people to the Gods, buried their kings in tombs, and we are walking through their cities! Most people will never see these temples in person and its impossible for words to give them justice. I am going to come back to the states with a new found appreciation for hot and clean water, a dry bed, being able to eat without gettting travellers diarhea, air conditioning, and my awesome family and friends. This trip has been a blessing in disguise, and I truly appreciate the United States of America more than I ever have.
Our students are incredible, mature, and never complain, despite all of us being sick at some point throughout this trip.
We are all learning how to order food in Spanish, and we are all amazed at the power of the Mayan Ruins.
We have travelled over borders in wooden boats, have climbed the tallest temples, have slept with indigenous people, seen cemetaries with children who died in the guerrilan warfare buried there, have seen people washing their clothes in the river, and carrying water barrels on goats, kids as young as 4 years old begging for money and offering to carry our heavy bags, have gotten our vans stuck in mud as we travel through the mud in the middle of the rain forest after three days of rain, have been greeted by the most humble and appreciative Guatemalan people, have seen the most amazing animals and been three feet from a crocodile and ten feet from a jaguar, have seen temples of people who died a thousand years ago, and best of all, have a new found appreciation for the lives we live in the states and the people that we hold dearest.
We travel back to Mexico tomorrow, and see one last mayan site on the river. We then go back to Palenque, our first site and say goodbye to the people that first greeted us strangers in a strange land, or us americanos locos (crazy americans). On Wednesday we fly back to the states, where we will all have the dinners that we have already planned, some want wendys, some burger king, me, I just want to see my friends, talk to my family, eat a really good american meal, and go to bed in my queen size bed, with air conditioning. But you can be sure, I will have a new found appreciation for what we have!
Good night.

Jonathan

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