Following the Equator

Global Citizen Spotlight: Lindsay Brown

Over the next few months, guest columnists will be posting on Following the Equator. Our first guest columnist is Lindsay Brown.
Lindsay is a high school senior at Fair Haven Union High School. She is a student ambassador, Girl Scout and member of the student council. She also plays tennis and field hockey. Last summer, she traveled to Europe as an EF Global Citizen. Here, she recounts her experiences. 

As I entered my freshman year of high school, I didn't have much travel experience. The farthest I had been was Pennsylvania, and considering that I am from Vermont, I had seen virtually nothing the world had to offer. Don't get me wrong, I didn't have any trouble with homesickness. I used to love going away to Girl Scout camp for weeks at a time. The main reason I hadn’t traveled was lack of opportunity.

But then, during my freshman year, an opportunity arose in my civics and geography class to travel to China for two weeks. Usually freshman weren’t given the chance to apply, but my teacher saw something in me that even I didn’t know was there. She saw my interest in learning about the different countries and cultures and she just knew that this trip was for me. So I began the application process and after an interview, I was chosen to represent my school on the GRASP (Greater Rutland Asian Studies Program) trip to China, sponsored by the Freeman Foundation.

The trip was amazing. The beauty that surrounded me every day was immaculate. The gardens and centuries old architecture were mind blowing. I had the time of my life experiencing this foreign culture. I also had the opportunity to stay with a host family, and their daughter came to stay with my family the next summer. Once I got back, I did several presentations to students and adults alike, telling them about my experiences. This is how my passion for travel began. But it wasn’t until this summer, when I got to travel to Europe with EF Educational Tours that I realized how deep my passion for travel really is.

Careers that take you places

Do you dream of waking up in a new city each week? Would you prefer to jet to London or Sydney, rather than commuting to an office every day? Do you love meeting new people in new places?

Upon graduating from school, you may want to consider a career that allows you to travel. Sure some jobs (pilot, flight attendant, tour guide, cruise ship director) easily lend themselves to jet-setting, but check out these other careers that will have you packing a suitcase in no time:

Journalist: Whether you’re a foreign correspondent reporting from the front line or a travel journalist scoping out the best hotels, restaurants and vacation destinations, you could get paid to write about major events around the globe.
Notable journalists: Christiane Amanpour, Anthony Bourdain, Bill Bryson
 
Zoologist: If you love animals and adventure, why not consider a career in zoology. From the jungles of Costa Rica to the deserts of Africa, you could criss-cross the globe studying exotic animals, helping endangered species and working to protect animal habitats.
Notable zoologists: Jane Goodall, Jeff Corwin

Diplomat: Are you particularly good at negotiating and understanding other points of view? Ever wonder what the life of a diplomat is like? Diplomats are governmental officials who are in charge of maintaining social, political and economic relationships with another country. Diplomats can do everything from advocating for their home country’s interests to promoting trade to dealing with emergency travel situations.
Notable diplomats: Madeleine Albright, Kofi Annan

Traveling nurse: If you’ve always wanted to pursue a career in medicine, why not consider becoming a traveling nurse. As the name implies, traveling nurses usually move to a new hospital every 8 to 26 weeks. Besides getting to explore new cities, these professionals also usually receive free housing and have other living expenses paid for as well.  

Athletic recruiter: If sports are your passion, becoming an athletic recruiter might be the career path for you. As such, you can visit high school or college sports programs across the country looking for the next Tom Brady, Derek Jeter or Maria Sharapova. 

Astronaut: If you’ve done a fair share of traveling already and feel inspired to explore even more, you could always consider becoming an astronaut. After all, a trip to space is sure to be pretty memorable.
Notable astronauts: Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin

Soccer player attains new keepy-uppy record

How long can you juggle a soccer ball for? Do you think you could juggle it for 36 miles without letting it hit the ground?

That’s exactly what Dan Magness, 26, did. Magness is the current “keepy-uppy” (as they call juggling in the United Kingdom) world-record holder. Last week, he traveled to London’s five Premier League soccer grounds in the first part of his quest to visit all of the soccer clubs in England while keepy-uppying a soccer ball. The journey took him approximately 14 hours.

After Magness sets his world record, the ball will continue its journey and travel to South Africa to be used in the 2010 World Cup.

Nothing compares to a firsthand look at another culture

By Amanda Strojny, EF Tour Consultant

Before coming to EF Educational Tours to work as a tour consultant, I taught English to 10th- and 11th-graders in St. Petersburg, Florida. I was always skeptical of the benefits of foreign travel for students, but now I am more than convinced that the way to truly gain an appreciation for another culture is total immersion.

As a teacher, I always looked for ways to design my curriculum to make it relevant to current events. Developing a cultural awareness of the rest of the world is a skill most students fail to gain. Almost all teachers have the same goal inside the classroom: They want their students fully engaged and able to develop the 21st century skills they need to be successful upon graduation. Unfortunately, no matter how many hands-on activities or student-led conversations appear to make a difference in the lives of teenagers, nothing can compare to the firsthand view of another culture. 

At EF, I am able to communicate this vision of awareness to teachers and encourage countless students to travel. Recently, I had the opportunity to travel to Germany, Italy and Switzerland with a group of students and teachers. This experience quickly brought me back to the classroom, but most importantly, it made me realize just how essential international travel really is.

Apply for EF's Global Citizen Scholarship by March 1

Are you prepared for the demands of the 21^st century?

Do you want to travel on a free educational tour to China with other students from across the globe?

EF’s Global Citizen Scholarship program unites students around the world by breaking down language, cultural and geographical barriers. Our scholarship recipients enjoy the opportunity of a lifetime: a free educational tour to China designed to develop cross-cultural communication and promote cultural exchange.

EF is giving away 10 scholarships to current sophomores and juniors. All you have to do is watch a video on our website and prepare an essay response to the following prompt:

“As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, cross-cultural skills, communication, innovation and critical thinking are becoming more important than ever before. How could spending 14,000 minutes of your life on a  tour to China equip you with these skills or others? By refining these skills, what future opportunities could become available to you?”

Enter by March 1, 2010.

For more information, visit 
eftours.com/GlobalCitizen or call 1.800.665.5364.

Happy Australia Day

Australians around the world are celebrating Australia Day, which commemorates the arrival of the British in 1788 and the proclamation of British sovereignty. Today, the holiday is a celebration of being Australian, similar to Americans’ celebration of the Fourth of July.

However, the holiday is not without controversy, and some Aboriginal people refer to the holiday instead as Invasion Day. In his instructions for establishing the first British colony, King George III instructed Arthur Phillip to protect the “lives and livelihoods of the Aborigines and encouraged friendly relations with them,” but he also proclaimed Australia terra nullius, meaning that he did not recognize the land as theirs. 

The day the holiday is celebrated is also debated. Some argue that January 26 is an inaccurate day for celebration because Sydney Cove was not actually the first place that the First Fleet landed. In fact, the fleet arrived at Botany Bay on January 18, 1788, but could not find an adequate supply of fresh water so they sailed to Sydney Cove.  Furthermore, the Colony of New South Wales was not officially established until February 7.    

Middle school students raise funds for Haiti

As support from around the world pours in for the people of Haiti, it is a reminder of how interconnected the world really is, and how people come together for a common good, despite barriers of language, culture or geography.

Sure, most people are aware of the aid that came from corporations and celebrities. Cell phone providers made it as easy to donate money as it is to send a text, and Google donated Internet resources to relief organizations. The Hope for Haiti telethon this past weekend attracted some of the biggest names in entertainment, including Madonna, Wyclef Jean and Jack Nicholson. In Britain, Prime Minister Gordon Brown has waived the VAT on a song that Simon Cowell is producing. Proceeds from the single will benefit relief efforts.

However, some of the most heartwarming stories are those of regular people, coming together to do their part. Take for instance, the students of the Weatherly, Pennsylvania, area elementary and middle schools who raised $4,400 at a walkathon for the people of Haiti.

In an article that appeared on standardspeaker.com, one fourth grader, Kasandra Butler had this to say: “I had a dollar to buy a snack today, but I gave it to my teacher for the people in Haiti. They really need it more than I do. I can get a snack some other time.”

Read the full article here.

EF will match the donations raised by Weatherly students.

We're matching donations to Haiti relief efforts

In response to the devastation in Haiti, EF Education First is teaming up with the American Red Cross to support ongoing earthquake relief efforts.
 
We hope our contribution can help provide the people of Haiti with resources they need to begin to recover and rebuild. To that end, EF will match up to $100,000 in employee and customer donations made through the Red Cross.
 
Together, our caring community of staff, teachers, students and parents can make a difference for the many people of Haiti who need our support.
 
Please click here to have your donation matched.