Oh hey guys...so yea I finished the book and totally forgot to post. I found it very..comforting? (not sure really which word I'm looking for here haha) while reading about how the Americans' perspectives on the natives changed. Some quotes about this that really touched me were on page 273 when Alfred Baylon, the paratrooper/medic/fellow Pilipino;) said, "they are a wonderfully carefree people," he said. "Living in a land of perpetual summer, they never worry about their next meal." And also the quote said by Margaret on page 276 when she said, "The natives of Shangri-La are a wise people," she wrote. "They are happy. They know when they're well off. They are too smart to permit a few chance visitors from Mars to change the rhythm of centuries." Though I'm very happy that the Americans experienced a happy ending, I got very angered while reading about how the Uluayek Legend pretty much came true and the valley underwent dramatic changes what with Christian missionaries and Indonesian troops flooded into the valley decades following the war. Just as Robert Gardner had said in the book, the people of the valley were "warriors and independent people" who ended up be becoming "serfs in their own country." Though I know I probably would never be living in America if not for this, I don't know why people can't just le native nations be. The people of the Shangri-La valley, though not as technilogically advanced as us, we're happy with the way they were living. They had such a simple life. There really was no reason for people to go to the valley afterwards, yet they did because they found just one more thing they could possibly get their hands on. How selfish! Boy did I get heated while reading this...I'm even getting mad just typing about it! But yea, that's how I feel.

Also, just like how it saddened me to read about the plane crash, my mood dropped when reading about how Walter, Decker, McCollom, and Margaret passed away. I felt like I had such a connection with them and didn't want the story to end. The survivors eventually died in the end just like how everyone will at some point. Guess that's just the circle of life (I watched lion king the other day with my niece and saw the connection hahaha:o All in all, great book!

And Mike...niccceeeeeee one with the penis gourd question hahhaha.