Global Explorers Blog 
Seeing the Grand Canyon Through Other Senses
Posted 7/14 by Laurel Morales, National Public Radio: In regards to a Global Explorers Leading the Way Expedition!
Near the edge of the Grand Canyon, Esha Mehta listens to distant thunder and feels cool rain fall on her face.
“My vision of nature comes from the sounds,” said Mehta, 21. “Then I make up what I imagine it to look like.”
The Philadelphia native has been blind since birth. But Mehta bares no grudges. In fact she can’t stop smiling. She and nine others have been hiking the Grand Canyon and they are about to launch on a river trip down the Colorado River.
Read or listen to the full NPR Story
Share on Facebook Post to Twitter Posted by David Shurna · July 14, 2011
Cambodia AYLP: Why I do what I do
All year long I wait for it. It’s a feeling like no other. It’s the feeling of getting out into the field with students and experiencing the genuine rewards that come with an authentic cross-cultural travel experience. It comes from seeing the smiles, hearing the laughs, developing the bonds, feeling the energy and learning from each other on a deep level. I feel so blessed to have just had the chance to travel to Cambodia with 29 of the most amazing students, 5 of the most inspiring teachers and 3 of the most talented colleagues I could imagine as part of the American Youth Leadership Program with Cambodia. What I just did with all of these wonderful people was nothing short of life-affirming.
We developed lifelong friendships and opened doors to personal discovery that can only come from sharing an immersion experience with each other. We experienced personal connections to other cultures and our natural environment and showed ourselves what we’re really made of – even if it meant using squat toilets and bucket showers! We played impromptu soccer games in the pouring rain with cows running across the field, started more sing-alongs with the locals than I can count, rode bicycles alongside ox-carts and ate things like tarantula legs and crickets. We had the time of our lives and we’ll never forget it.
Share on Facebook Post to Twitter Posted by Jordy Oleson · July 7, 2011 · american youth leadership program, aylp, cambodia
ABC’s Expedition Impossible: Life Lesson from Reality TV?
It's strange to see someone you know competing on national TV.
Erik Weihenmayer and Jeff Evans, two Global Explorers Expedition Leaders, are members of a team on a new travel reality show that takes place in Morocco. From counting snakes to rappelling off cliffs, I have to chuckle as I think about these two lifelong friends on yet another crazy adventure.
Erik makes wise cracks about his blindness. Jeff pokes fun at competitors in knee-high socks. They make wrong turns, but still come out ahead.
