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.

I am so lucky that I was part of an experience like this and I’d like to say THANK YOU to everyone who was involved with making this a reality. THANK YOU to the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs for providing this opportunity to so many deserving participants. THANK YOU to our friends at the Afar Foundation / Afar Media, Khiri Travel, the Pearson Foundation, Keen Footwear, Colorado State University, Asia Transpacific Journeys, Texas A&M University, Travel Channel, and many others.

And THANK YOU to all the amazing people with whom I was lucky enough to travel to Cambodia – you inspire me and demonstrate all the reasons why the organizations listed above support travel experiences for people like you!