Friday, February 19, 2010

Adios, amigos!


For those of you wondering where the fuzzy headshot on the left of this blog comes from, here it is. Yes, that's me -- the dork on the right in the Cubs hat. It's from last year's trip. The photo, which also includes my friends Gary, left, and Mike, sitting next to me, was taken on the steps of a tiny church in Tres Reyes, Quintana Roo, Mexico. The woman is an unknown Mayan villager.

We're building a school that's across a small courtyard from the church. Directly across from the church is a very deep jungle gorge (probably a hundred feet deep or more and a half-mile across) over which a very rickety zip line is rigged. We ride it every year. It's terrifying. Really.

Tres Reyes is a very remote Mayan village where only Mayan is spoken. Since part of our work crew is Mexican, everything must be communicated in three languages: English, Spanish and Mayan. It's fascinating to learn Mayan words, since it's a language that's been slowly disappearing along with the Mayans themselves for the past five hundred years.

We'll also have a chance to again tour some massive and breathtakingly beautiful Mayan ruins while we're there. Very cool. And this year, I'm taking my 19-year-old son, Zach, with me. He's excited to be going, but I'm even more excited to have the opportunity to take him.

We're leaving home at 3:20 a.m. tomorrow. Yikes. I hope everyone has a wonderful week, and gets some serious writing done. If possible, I'll try to post a short blog from an Internet cafe in Leona Vicario, the Mexican village where our compound is located.

Otherwise, this blog will be back a week from Sunday. If it's anything like our usual trip, there will be plenty of adventures to recount.

Be safe. I will.

11 comments:

  1. Don't envy your early flight at 3.20am. Yikes, indeed!

    It's a wonderful thing you're doing. Look forward to your updates upon your return :)

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  2. Be safe. Don't accept any strange packages from people who need you to carry them over the border for them.

    And don't drink the water.

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  3. Thanks all. And don't worry, Christi, I won't. Plus, we're way down almost in Belize on the Caribbean side of the Yucatan. Nowhere near the border, thank God. ;)

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  4. Looking forward to hearing about it! Hope you enjoy your trip and your 'son time'.

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  5. Have a great trip, Terry, can't wait to see photos from this year's trip!

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  6. Bon voyage Terry and son!

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  7. Have fun! I can't wait to hear all about it.

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  8. Hey Terry. Be safe and I want to hear all the details upon your return.

    It's great that you and Gary do these kinds of things together; and that your son can be a part of it this time around.

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  9. I have insider information you have returned! So I check for an update at 3, again at 6, and again before midnight (Saturday). Yet nothing. What, bloggin' ain't your first priority after a week out of the country? Don't you know we're -- well at least I, for one, anxiously await the full report?
    :) me. There, I posted.

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