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The February issue of Edutopia magazine is out. It's especially worthwhile because the theme is global education.
The cover story, "As the World Learns: Education as a Vital Global Marketplace Represents the Future," is particularly interesting with reports on how students are taught in Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, India, Japan, New Zealand, Pakistan, Russia, Sweden and Uganda. There's also a report on Room to Read, a global nonprofit that builds schools and libraries in developing countries. Plus, there are additional global education resources.
The other cool thing in this issue is the Sage Advice page, which asks, "How do you prepare your students to be citizens of the world?" Some good responses that are worth reading.
Edutopia is the website of The George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit that celebrates and encourages innovation in schools. The monthly magazine is free to qualified subscribers. You can even get the ultracool digital version, which looks and reads just like the printed version.
If you haven't applied for your U.S. passport yet, you can save $3 if you do it before Friday.
The Los Angeles Times reported yesterday that passport fees are going up to $100 on February 1. The U.S. Department of State is raising the cost of an adult passport from $97 to $100 and the cost of a child (under 16) passport from $82 to $85. Passport renewals are going up from $67 to $75.
The Times also pointed out another important change that takes effect in two days. For children under 16, both parents will be required to appear in person (or one parent with required documentation) to apply for a passport. Currently, the age cutoff is 14. This is particularly important to know for underclassmen who are planning to travel this year or next.
You can get more information in the Times' recent Q&A, "Everything you need to know about U.S. passport rules," and at the official State Department website: travel.state.gov.
If you have any other passport questions, post your comments below, and we'll do our best to find the answers.
It's nearly every American kid's belief that China is on the exact opposite side of the world. That's what we were told, right? Dig a hole straight through, and you'd arrive in China.
But like a lot of things we grew up believing, that's just not so. This map proves it. From anywhere in the continental United States, the exact opposite is somewhere in the Indian Ocean—between Australia and Africa.
The map superimposes the inverse globe on top of itself to illustrate antipodes—the diametrically opposite point from any place on Earth. Most of Earth's land mass is opposite water—no big surprise considering water covers 70 percent of the surface.
Gadling's Aaron Hotfelder directed our attention to the antipodal map and an even more precise, interactive map that can plot exact opposite points around the globe.
For the record, the exact opposite of Xi'an, China, is Rinconada de Parral—a city about 60 miles outside Santiago, Chile.
They're going to have to keep humming in Spain—at least for a while longer.
Spain's national anthem, "La Marcha Real" ("The Royal March") has been played without words since 1978, when lyrics approved by dictator Francisco Franco were dropped. Spain remains one of the few countries that has no official lyrics.
We mentioned that the Spanish Olympic Committee launched a competition last year to come up with words for the music in time to support Madrid's bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics. One objective was to give medal-winning athletes something to sing, so they wouldn't have to appear on the medal humming or totally silent (like this)—hopefully in time for this summer's Olympics in Beijing.
But the search was postponed last week after the winning entry was derided in the Spanish media and considered offensive by some regions of Spain. According to Reuters, the winning lyrics by unemployed 52-year-old Paulino Cubero began, "Long live Spain," which sounded a wrong note with separatists in the Basque Country and Catalonia and reminded them of the Franco dictatorship.
Think the U.S. economy is problematic? It's nothing compared to the economic crisis in Zimbabwe.
Inflation is so bad—believed to be 50,000 percent annually—that Zimbabwe's central bank just began issuing notes worth 10,000,000 Zimbabwean dollars. Yes, 10 million bucks. That's the equivalent of 100 of the bills pictured.
Ten million dollars is believed to be the largest denomination of any currency in the world, but don't get too excited. At the current rate, it could be worthless in a few weeks. According to the BBC, one $10 million note (or bearer cheque, as its called) is worth less than $4 U.S. on the black market. That means the $100,000 cheque pictured is worth less than 4 U.S. pennies.
Gadling pointed us to a blog that describes Zimbabwe's rampant hyperinflation. The writer reports that the new $10,000,000 bill is the same color, layout and design as an old $20 bill (which expired in July). Fifteen months ago, that $20 bill was worth $0.025 USD; that same bill is now worth $0.00000005 USD. Hence, the $10 million note.
To illustrate what that means in daily life, here's how much it cost to buy a beer back in December.
Now, on to more Travel Tidbits …
Continue reading "Travel Tidbits: Can you spare $10 million?" »
No Amazing Race last night. What are we supposed to do now?
Like we said before, no TV show captures the thrill of international travel like The Amazing Race. And now we're stuck waiting—like an excruciatingly long layover—for the next adventure to begin.
Apparently, we're not the only ones going through Amazing Race withdrawal. Luckily, Gadling's Jamie Rhein offered some advice last week on a way to cope with the absence of Amazing Race. Exclusive Web Clips on the official website apparently offer some good insight to the show, the contestants and the destinations.
2008 is one of those milestone years. It's the year of the historic U.S. presidential election. It's the year of the historic Beijing Olympics. And it's the year to celebrate … the spud?
The United Nations has declared 2008 the International Year of the Potato to raise awareness for this vital food staple around the world.
Potato consumption has doubled in the past 15 years (in large part due to demand for potato chips and french fries), and is expected to double again by 2020.
Two million minutes … that's how long four years is, that's how long high school lasts, that's how long high school students have to prepare for their futures.
And that's also the name of a compelling new documentary, 2 Million Minutes: A Global Examination, which focuses on how the United States, China and India—"the three superpowers of the 21st century"—educate and prepare high school students for the global economy.
The one-hour documentary—the brainchild of entrepreneur Robert A. Compton—examines two high school students (a boy and a girl) from each country. The Americans (from Carmel, Indiana) are excellent students but appear more interested in sunglasses and sororities than studies. Their counterparts in China and India, on the other hand, are consumed with their education, their careers and pursuits such as the violin.
The film doesn't focus on big-picture solutions, but we know that increasing global awareness through educational travel can play a major role. This is right in line with the goals of The Partnership for 21st Century Skills, of which EF is a board member.
Thanks to Scott McLeod over at Dangerously Irrelevant for bringing our attention to this compelling documentary. I just ordered my copy. You can read more about the film, about the characters and about What Should America Do, and you can read Education Week's article.
But, first, you have to watch the trailer:
Don't forget your toothbrush ... certainly a good tip. But check out the website by that name, dontforgetyourtoothbrush.com, because there's a whole lot of other things you don't want to forget before your trip.
Don't Forget Your Toothbrush is more or less the ultimate travel checklist site. It's more than a packing list (although it's good for that, too). You create custom lists of things to do to prepare for your trip and things to not forget to bring on your trip (like your toothbrush). Then you can receive emails reminding you of things to do. And, of course, it's free!
We first heard about DFYT from EF Group Leader Jeremy Van Hof, who suggested it to his travelers on his group's blog, Italy and Spain 2008. But the site is no secret. Gadling wrote about it last month, it's twice been named Website of the Day by the BBC, and Time magazine just named it No. 7 on its list of Top 10 Websites in 2007.
Continue reading "Tip of the Week: Don't forget your toothbrush" »
We love historic, world-traveling authors here. One of the most famous is Sir Francis Bacon, the English philosopher, statesman and author who penned the essay "Of Travel" in 1597.
World Hum writer Rolf Potts just reworked the essay in the form of a modern-day magazine feature (complete with magazine cover). It's a brilliant combination of 16th-century substance and 21st-century style—and it's a great read.
You can read the full text of Bacon's original essay below.
The Academy Awards nominations were just announced, but, alas, there's no Oscar for Best Travel Movie.
If there were, perhaps The Bourne Ultimatum—which was filmed in Germany, England, Spain, Morocco, France, Italy and the United States—would have earned more than its three sound and editing nominations.
With no travel-related golden statue to pass out and no thumb-worthy travel list from Ebert, we defer to Budget Travel's list of the year's top 10 travel-inspiring movies:
1. The Bourne Ultimatum
2. Elizabeth: The Golden Age (set in historic England)
3. Ratatouille (set in animated Paris)
4. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (filmed in Canada)
5. Into the Wild (set in continental United States and Alaska)
6. The Darjeeling Limited (set in India)
7. Atonement (set in WWII Britain)
8. Enchanted (set in Manhattan)
9. Lust, Caution (set in Shanghai and Hong Kong)
10. Once (set in Ireland)
Gadling has written a couple of times about the list (here and here) and even directed us to a video of an interview CNN conducted with Budget Travel Senior Editor Liz Ozaist. In particular, she highlighted Jason Bourne's chase through Tangier's medina in Morocco as one of the many spectacular scenes showcasing a travel destination.
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