Global Explorers Walks the Talk
At Global Explorers we truly believe in living our values of sustainability. Recently, we removed all the lights in the office in order to update them with more efficient bulbs and fixtures. This decision seemed like the natural next step, seeing as we already employ sustainable designs such as cork floors, low VOC paint, and recycled carpet squares. This simple transition would ensure a reduction of 5,688 Watts and an annual electricity savings of 14,503 kilowatts per year, not to mention the savings in utility bills.
Like many things in life, everything doesn’t always work out like we have planned. Once the old lights had been stripped and the electrical wires exposed our installers noticed a vital detail: we had been shipped the wrong materials.
As we wait for the correct shipment to arrive (hopefully within three weeks) we're really living our belief that conserving energy is vital to the future of our planet as the lighting in the office is currently provided free of charge…by the sun. Well that, and several desk lamps. The other benefit is that everyone is home by sundown allowing us to maintain a positive work/life balance which is another one of our core beliefs.
Teacher Perspective: Facing challenges in the Amazon
My Global Explorers Amazon experience was amazing; each day was a tremendous learning experience. I benefited most from our highly skilled and enthusiastic guides who showed great reverence for life and respect for the people they where teaching. I learned an awesome amount in a short time, and I now use that information in teaching my classes.
The Inca trail experience was also awesome. Once again we had knowledgeable, kind, patient, and enthusiastic guides. We learned about the culture and history of the Incas, both in Cusco and Machu Picchu. The hiking and the scenery were awe inspiring; the entire trip had a mystical element to it.
I want to share this trip with students because it can be a major life experience. It is a trip that explores the totality of life, not just biologically, within the rain forest, or hiking through the different bio-climes in the mountains, but life on a community, cultural, service, and spiritual level. Students will gain a deeper understanding of, and reverence for, our earth and the environment. Students will be challenged physically in the Andes; they will be challenged with the language (for those looking to improve their Spanish), challenged with relying on others and at times, living simply, and being out of their comfort zone. Students will also be challenged and rewarded through opportunities for service.
Dave, Teacher from Chicago, IL
Student Perspective: Summiting to full potential in the Andes
Hiking 15,500 feet up a Peruvian mountain is an exciting and moving adventure, but even the most powerful experience becomes meaningless without a lesson to take home. My biggest fear going into the trip was messing up and killing some poor blind trusting traveler. I thought of myself as a leader, of course, but I thought myself too inexperienced and awkward to accomplish such a task. I started to run to prepare for the demanding physical strain, but there is no exercise to train for guiding a blind person. Here I am: going to a foreign country, venturing into the wilderness, and someone is completely dependent on me for guidance. I was apprehensive to say the least.
At first I tried to carry Josh down the trail. At one point, I physically grabbed him and yanked him in the way I wanted him to go. I was quickly yet gently criticized for my technique. Eric Weihenmayer said that Josh was going to trip, but that was his life. Just point him in the right direction; that is your job.
The final steps were the easiest; with our goal so close, I forgot the pain in my knee and how complicated the directions were getting. I told Josh how close we were and we both focused on simply putting one foot in front of the other. Upon reaching our highest pass, Josh, my self, and the entire group shouted for joy. We had done it! The group leaders congratulated us all for making the summit, but for anyone who wanted to reach a higher point, there was a side trail for another two or three hundred feet. Now, in this case, being a blind person was to his advantage. He couldn't see the craggily, jagged path to the steep point way up in the clouds. He couldn't see the countless "step ups" and "step downs." All he could see was in his mind's eye. He, more apprehensively this time, said, "I want to make it to the top."
My fleeting ambition of reaching a new summit rekindled. Though I could see every step, I tripped, and Josh was doing much worse. Upon reaching halfway between the pass and the very top, we stopped right before a dip that the leaders said was too rough to cross for someone as blind as Josh in the time we had. I said we had reached our personal best. We felt the cold mountain air on our faces. I described the incline we had just overcome. I described the valley we had hiked across. I described how close the clouds were.
Everyday, I am faced with regular challenges. Surmounting tough classes, filling out college applications, and balancing a social life are all completely hard challenges and if accomplished successfully, these are all worthy summits; but we all have hidden challenges that aren't ordinary. I now sit looking at a multitude of possibilities; I could be anything I want to be. Now, I could take it easy and simply settle for good grades and a decent education, but that isn't my true summit. I see a side trail for a little more altitude. By embracing friends, teachers, counselors, and parents as my partners to propel me to the top, I can overcome any barrier. The jagged path ahead of me losses its daunting power when I have an encouraging spirit behind me. In order to reach my personal summit in life, I learned on a Peruvian mountain that no matter the impairments of me or my team, a determined spirit overcomes all obstacles. With this practical definition of leadership in my mind, no jagged path can dissuade my determined spirit.
Boo yah,
Frank, a student from Silsbee, TX
If you are interested in learning more about programs offered by Global Explorers, or would like to donate to a specific student or group traveling this summer, go to our website: http://www.GlobalExplorers.org