Drawing by Steven Stankiewicz for The Washington Post

Veteran journalist Paul Salopek has embarked on a seven-year journey around the world. He may be a modern day explorer but he's also an old-fashioned trekker. Paul will cover 21,000 miles BY FOOT!

Paul started in January 2013 in the Rift Valley in Ethiopia where he met the Afar people. While researching an article on Paul's journey I emailed Paul about the children he met. Of course it gave me a jolt every time I saw "Paul Salopek" pop up in my inbox. Here he was escaping the fast-paced urban life to trek across the desert accompanied only by two or three other people and a camel (sand and dunes seemingly endless as I'd seen in photos) and yet he was able to communicate via email in nano-seconds.

I learned that the schools Afar children attend are often temporary structures. Many Afar are cattle-herding nomads—Paul says their teachers sometimes strap a chalkboard to a camel and accompany their students to different pastures. And Iearned that kids make their own soccer balls out of plastic bags and twine.

To learn more about Paul's discoveries go to www.outofedenwalkcom. You'll find my article about Paul Salopek for KidsPost (The Washington Post) at http://bit.ly/1613vJ8.