ABSTRACT
Chapter 6 considers how various modes of mobility become fused to produce learning outcomes. In particular, this chapter examines three major effects observed by the participants in the course of global learning: downturns, upturns and transcendence. Most students experience “magic moments,” creating ascendance toward new intellectual, emotional and spiritual peaks. At the same time, the learners go through a range of downturns in their international travels and encounters. The negative effects, however, help these students to sharpen their cognitive skills and strengthen their resilience in the face of new trials. Some students felt that they became better at functioning in unfamiliar cultural settings and interacting with others precisely because of the transformational effects created by negative experiences. Transcending the boundaries of their conventions, cultural heritages, institutional norms and contextual circumstances, the global explorers acquire the sense of being on the edge of intellectual, cultural and spiritual insights, shaping the process of higher learning.
