Following the Equator

Fundraising webinar: Planning and Organizing

2009-07-07T11:35:01-04:00

EF Fundraising Tips & Tricks - Planning & Organizing

Are you looking for tips on how to get started fundraising for your educational tour? Wondering how to raise funds in a challenging economy? How about ideas for individual or group fundraising?

We have created a half-dozen brief webinars to address the basic fundraising questions and provide some useful tips to get started and take your fundraising to the next level.

You can see all of of our fundraising webinars on EF's fundraising site. Plus, we will feature a different webinar each week here at Following the Equator. The first webinar (above) focuses on planning and organizing. This is a great introduction to jump-start your fundraising efforts and make educational travel even more affordable.

Photo of the Week: La Sagrada Familia

2009-07-02T09:10:00-04:00

La Sagrada Família—the awe-inspiring masterpiece of architect Antoni Gaudí—has been decades in the making. Construction on the Barcelona church first began in 1882 and is not expected to be completed until at least 2026—a century after its designer's death.

Want to be featured as Photo of the Week? Join the EF Tours group on Flickr, and add your travel photos. We pick a new one each Thursday.

Photo: hkm_duh via Flickr (EF Tours pool)

The Best of May and June

2009-07-01T08:44:00-04:00

It's been a busy couple of months, resulting in fewer posts than normal. But May and June were particularly exciting months because we announced the winners of EF's photo and video contests and we followed EF's Global Citizens tour on Twitter.

Thanks for reading our educational travel blog. As always, I encourage you to comment on any post, share posts on Facebook or any social-media site and subscribe to our RSS feed. Plus, if you're on Twitter, be sure to follow us @EFtours.

If you missed anything, you can check out our May and June archives or any of our most popular posts of the past two months below:

Photo of the Week: Reflection in Cork

2009-06-25T09:55:00-04:00

This wonderful reflection in the River Lee of South Gate Bridge and Saint Fin Barre's Cathedral in Cork, Ireland, was taken by Firehorsey.

Want to be featured as Photo of the Week? Join the EF Tours group on Flickr, and add your travel photos. We pick a new one each Thursday.

Photo: Firehorsey via Flickr (EF Tours pool)

Focus On: The Atomium

2009-06-22T13:34:23-04:00

There was once a time when the arrangement of atoms inside iron crystal was kept pretty low-key.

Then along came the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (Expo '58) and its signature structure: a 335-foot-tall rendering of a pattern of iron atoms, called The Atomium. It's 165 billion times bigger than a real set of iron atoms, so you can't miss it.

There are nine spheres in total, each one representing an atom. Six of the nine are open to visitors—inside them, there's exhibit halls, panoramic views and the like.

A major renovation was completed in 2008 for the Atomium's 50-year anniversary, most tellingly on the spheres: The old, faded aluminum was replaced with gleaming stainless steel, thus renewing the Atomium's futuristic aura for a new generation.

On the Atomium's website, there's some nifty pictures, especially of the Atomium just after its completion. The Atomium has probably never looked so amazing as it did when it soared futuristically over a 1950s Brussels.

Groups traveling on certain EF Educational Tours will pass through Brussels and enjoy a photo stop at the Atomium.

Photo: cookipediachef via Flickr (CC license)

Photo of the Week: Mont Saint-Michel

2009-06-18T09:33:00-04:00

Legend has it that the church atop Mont Saint-Michel was founded by Saint Aubert, bishop of Avranches, after repeated visions from the Archangel Michael 1,300 years ago.

"I thought this picture was pretty cool because of the seagulls in the front of it," nal1320 wrote in Flickr. "I liked this picture so much I blew it up and framed it in my room."

Want to be featured as Photo of the Week? Join the EF Tours group on Flickr, and add your travel photos. We pick a new one each Thursday.

Photo: nal1320 via Flickr (EF Tours pool)

The Wave Around the World

2009-06-16T10:39:00-04:00

Have you ever done the wave inside the Colosseum? At the top of the Eiffel Tower? On the Great Wall? Or in a Costa Rican rainforest?

Now's your chance, because you can be a part of the largest human wave ever: The Wave Around the World.

The Wave Around the World is looking for travelers—students, teachers, adults, anyone—to videotape themselves and their friends doing the wave in destinations across the globe. It's a perfect group activity for students traveling on educational tours this summer.

The wave become popular among sports fans at stadiums across North America in the 1980s. Its origins are debatable—at least five different sports lay claim to creating or popularizing the wave—but it may date back as early as the 1960s at a soccer game in Mexico.

The Wave Around the World was conceived this year by Katie Sullivan, an online marketing manager with EF Educational Tours. She said she wanted to create something that combines her two passions: "I love travel, and I love sports." Katie approached EF about helping promote her global event, so EF is getting the word out to all of its teachers and student travelers this summer.

To participate, grab a camera and your friends, fellow travelers or even passersby. The wave should be filmed all in one frame and should start on the left (from the camera's perspective). What you do with your wave is up to you—find fun locations and be creative. If you need help, check out these instructions on How to Do the Wave.

Anyone can participate, and videos can be taken anywhere—around the world, around the country, in your hometown. You don't need a fancy video camera—just take a short clip with your digital camera.

When you return, upload your video to WaveAroundTheWorld.com. The videos will be continually edited together to create the world's largest human wave, so check the site often to watch the wave circle the globe.

For more information, check out The Wave Around the World website. And be sure to spread the word.

Focus On: Lake District

2009-06-15T16:59:43-04:00

About halfway up Great Britain, in the upper reaches of England and just before the border with Scotland, lies the Lake District.

It is a stunningly beautiful landscape of lakes and "fells" (mountains), old stone walls and rolling green countryside. It's a rural paradise, like Switzerland with lower mountains and (charmingly) lower levels of perfectionism.

William Wordsworth, one of the premier poets of the English language, is a product of the Lake District. This is one of his most famous poems. Wordsworth's residences—Dove Cottage in the village of Grasmere (his home from 1799 to 1808) and the nearby Rydal Mount (1813-1850)—are both open to visitors.

The poet is buried in the graveyard of St. Oswald's Church, where tourists hungry for more than just literature can stop by the adjacent Grasmere Gingerbread Shop to partake in traditional gingerbread made according to Sarah Nelson's 19th-century recipe.

Groups traveling on certain EF Educational Tours will drive through the Lake District and take in the views; some itineraries include a visit to either Rydal Mount or Dove Cottage.

Photo: magnusfranklin via Flickr (CC license)

Follow EF's Global Citizens on Twitter

2009-06-12T08:35:00-04:00

EF's Global Citizens become world travelers next week.

Ten inspiring U.S. high school students were selected to receive tour scholarships through EF's annual Global Citizens essay contest. These outstanding Global Citizens depart this weekend on an incredible educational tour to Berlin, Prague, Munich and Lucerne.

The best part is that you can follow along on Twitter. Each day on tour, a different Global Citizen will tweet about their experiences. You can follow them at twitter.com/efglobalcitizen.

EF Tour Director Alex Luther—a Germany native and good friend of Following the Equator—may occasionally be tweeting during the tour, as well. You can follow Alex at twitter.com/AlexLuther.

To follow all Global Citizens tweets, search Twitter with the hashtag #efgc. And feel free to join in on the conversation (just add #efgc).

This year's Global Citizens will travel on an amazing journey to some of Central Europe's most important and fascinating sights. Among the highlights will be a visit to Checkpoint Charlie in observance of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The Global Citizens scholarship winners will be accompanied by EF's Teachers for the 21st Century—nine pre-service teachers who earned scholarships for the tour. The college students are all members of Kappa Delta Pi, the international honor society in education.

The Global Citizens and Teachers for the 21st Century will begin their tour tomorrow in Washington, D.C., where they will visit monuments, memorials and museums. They depart Sunday night for Europe:

Monday, June 15 — Arrive in Berlin
Tuesday, June 16 — Berlin sightseeing and educational workshop
Wednesday, June 17 — Berlin school visit and panel discussion
Thursday, June 18 — Travel to Prague
Friday, June 19 — Prague sightseeing
Saturday, June 20 — Visit Dachau and travel to Munich
Sunday, June 21 — Travel to Lucerne via Innsbruck and Liechtenstein
Monday, June 22 — Lucerne sightseeing (including EF headquarters)
Tuesday, June 23 — Return home

For more about EF's Global Citizens (and to read their winning essays), check out the official Global Citizens page on the EF website. And be sure to follow @efglobalcitizen, @AlexLuther and @EFtours on Twitter.

Photo of the Week: Florence's Duomo

2009-06-11T14:06:41-04:00

Here's a new perspective on the nearly 600-year-old Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence—better known simply as the Duomo.

Want to be featured as Photo of the Week? Join the EF Tours group on Flickr, and add your travel photos. We pick a new one each Thursday.

Photo: tiffluu via Flickr (EF Tours pool)

Video contest winner

2009-06-10T11:46:24-04:00

Sean Briare has been a world traveler since age 6, which has given him not only a lifetime of experiences but also a ton of video footage.

For his creativity, effort and enthusiasm, Sean—a high school junior from Clackamas, Oregon—was selected as the winner of EF's student video contest. As the grand-prize winner, Sean will receive an iPod Touch. Check out EF's student photo contest winners: Donnie Morrow, who won the destination competition; and Kayla Bess, who won the friends competition.

Sean first heard about EF's video contest from his father, William, who is a longtime EF Group Leader. Sean always joins his father on tour, so he knew he had a lot of experiences to draw upon.

"I have probably been on about 10 EF tours," Sean said. "I have been to England (twice), France, Italy, Greece, Mexico, China, Thailand, Spain, Portugal, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, and I think that is all I can remember off the top of my head. I have been going on these trips either every summer or every other summer since I was 6."

All of those tours have created a lot of memorable moments.

"One of my favorite memories was when I was in Ireland and my cousin and I were at a park just kicking a soccer ball around," Sean said. "These two kids about our age came, and we played a game against them for a good hour. It was so much fun. Riding elephants in Thailand was another great memory too, and my trip to China was another great experience."

Sean—who plays guitar and also loves to play soccer and sing in the school choir—just needed to find a way to connect all of his great content to create a fun and memorable video.

"My idea came from thinking about how I could incorporate my travel experiences but also make the video so EF could use it as a video to get students to go on their tours," Sean said. "Most of the footage was shot by me, but I never thought I could use it in a video contest. There are about five or six countries that I included in my video because those countries had the most pictures and film footage available for my use. The editing process probably took about 12 hours or longer. I spent many Sunday afternoons working on the project to get it how I wanted it and am very happy with how it turned out.

"When I read the email saying I had won, I was so excited! I called my dad and told him I won, and he said nice job. I still am excited that I won."

Where is Sean going next? He's joining his father, who is leading a trip next summer to Africa—"my senior graduation gift, which I am pretty excited for."

Focus On: Verona

2009-06-08T15:01:08-04:00

A tour bus heading to or heading out of Venice will likely take the path across the top of the Italian boot and find itself right in Verona's path.

Verona is a great stopover for a long lunch. Aside from lots of lunch options under piazza awnings, there are two outstanding sights to see:

The Arena di Verona was the Roman Empire's third largest amphitheater, behind this one in Rome and this one in Capua. But if it's only No. 3 in size, it's No. 1 in its state of preservation and by far the tops in its longevity as a "living" structure: Opera-goers worldwide flock to the Arena every summer for big-name performances under the bright lights.

The other big Verona attraction is the Casa di Guilietta. In Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, the heroine (Juliet Capulet) lives in Verona. In the first part of the 1900s, the city identified an old 13th century house in the city center that belonged to a family by the name of dell Capello (tantalizingly close to "Capulet" and conceivably Shakespeare's inspiration), and it was rebranded "Juliet's House" (Casa di Guilietta).

Of course, Juliet Capulet was a fictional character, so she never lived there nor pined away for Romeo from the house's stone balcony, but to skip visiting the house because it's not genuinely Juliet's misses the point. It's worth a visit just to see the enduring power that the concept of Romeo and Juliet continues to have on people everywhere, more than 400 years since the story was first told. Every day, visitors leave romantic notes and graffiti on the walls leading to the courtyard (which are regularly removed to make room for new ones) and line up to get a picture standing next to a statue of Juliet under the balcony.

And if they're humming a catchy new tune that's taken the world by storm, it's only further proof of Juliet's continued grip on the popular imagination. But no word yet on a Taylor Swift concert at the Arena.

EF Educational Tours has itineraries like this one that include an extended lunch stop in Verona.

Photo: Allie_Caulfield via Flickr (CC license)