Following the Equator | EF's Educational Travel Blog

EF's Global Citizen Scholarships

There's likely no better city for a global citizen to visit in 2009 than Berlin—in recognition of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Now, American students have the opportunity to visit that historic destination this year with other outstanding global citizens.

EF Educational Tours has just announced its annual Global Citizen Scholarship essay competition that will send 10 high school students on an expenses-paid EF tour to Berlin, Prague, Munich and Lucerne this summer.

Friday Fun Fact: Bicycles in Amsterdam

There are only about 750,000 residents of Amsterdam—but there are more than 600,000 bicycles. One source even puts the number of bicycles over 1 million.

Photo: w e n d y via Flickr (CC license)

More stunning photos of London

London aeriel photographer Jason Hawkes recently shared more of his unique vision with The Big Picture, the Boston Globe's awesome photo blog.

We wrote about his first batch of photos of London from above, at night back in September. Now, Hawkes has photos of St. Paul's Cathedral, Waterloo Station and the River Thames, among many others.

Photo of the Week: Feeding the flock

More than one EF traveler has spotted this unique character while touring Paris, and a couple have snapped photos of him and his pigeons.

This fun photo was submitted to the EF Tours group on Flickr by Honor Heindl, who described her shot:

"When touring Europe with EF this summer, I came across this old man feeding all the birds in the courtyard of Notre Dame in Paris. This photo captures the emotion and character of the Einstein-looking man and his loyal flock during feeding time."

Other travelers—including varajastoni and runxcountry78—have pointed out the same guy on Flickr. If you have any cool travel photos (of the birdfeeder or anything else), submit them to the EF Tours pool on Flickr. We select a new Photo of the Week every Thursday.

Photo: Honor Heindl via Flickr

Watch African game drives live

One of my dream travel experiences is to go on an African safari. So I was excited the other night when I found WildEarth.TV and even more excited last night when I got to watch a leopard and her baby cubs live in the African bush.

WildEarth broadcasts live online around-the-clock from the Djuma Game Reserve in Mpumalanga, South Africa. The highlight is live video of two daily game drives (at about 9:30 a.m. and 11 p.m. EST) with an expert ranger.

The leopard, Karula, is a regular character on the WildEarth game drives, and last night was the debut of her cubs, who are believed to be about four months old. You can read more about the cubs on the WildEarth blog and watch a 10-minute clip of Karula and her cubs here (the first cub appears at about the six-minute mark):

Last night's game drive also found a pride of lions and some zebras. When WildEarth isn't broadcasting game drives, it delivers a live feed of its watering hole, which attracts wildebeests and other wildlife.

For more about my new favorite site, check out WildEarth.TV and be on the lookout for more wildlife on the game drive tonight.

Super Bowl fundraisers

Look for timely fundraisers. When there is a widely publicized event, seize the opportunity to jump on board—such as this weekend's Super Bowl! The favored Pittsburgh Steelers battle the underdog Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII on Sunday in Tampa, Florida.

There are many different Super Bowl-based fundraisers out there, including:

Focus on: Amsterdam

Amsterdam all too often is known for its red-light district and its liberal drug laws; this is a complete misrepresentation. In fact, Amsterdam is practically unsurpassable as a one-stop-shopping of elegance, culture and history.

Here are the top four reasons to visit Amsterdam:

EF's webinar offers more fundraising help

In addition to its new fundraising guides, EF conducted its first fundraising webinar last month.

On the audio slideshow, EF Fundraising Specialist Tessa Lorenze—who writes the weekly fundraising Tip of the Week for Following the Equator—provides tips, best practices and other advice on getting started and how to raise money for educational tours.

The webinar is now available on the EF website at www.eftours.com/fundraising, and you also can watch it here. One caveat: The webinar is about 40 minutes long, and it's best watched in one viewing (if you pause it, it stops the slides but not the audio).

Also, please feel free to share the webinar with friends, colleagues and other travelers. Click the buttons in the bottom right of the webinar screen to email the slideshow or get the embed code for various online sites. Or you can find the embed code on the right-hand side of the webinar page to include it on your own website or blog.

Friday Fun Fact: Melbourne Park

The Australian Open—the first grand slam tennis tournament and the first big international sports event of the year—is currently being contested at Melbourne Park in Australia.

The centerpiece of Melbourne Park, a multipurpose sporting venue, is Rod Laver Arena (above). Although the arena is best known for the Australian Open and named for Australia's most famous tennis legend, the rectractable-roof arena also hosts a wide range of events.

In addition to motocross, wrestling, gymnastics and even swimming, Rod Laver Arena also attracts a number of high-profile musical performers, including Justin Timberlake, Pink and possibly Britney Spears in the fall.

The Australian Open concludes with the men's final on February 1.

Photo: The Eternity via Flickr (CC license)

Photo of the Week: North Sea sunset

The North Sea provides a picturesque setting for wonderful sunset photos. This beautifully vibrant photo of a sunset over the North Sea off the coast of Scotland was taken by kasprzykg, who submitted it to the EF Tours group on Flickr.

Do you have great travel photos? Submit them to the EF Tours pool
on Flickr. We select a new Photo of the Week every Thursday.

Photo: kasprzykg via Flickr

EF on Wheel of Fortune

It is Teacher Appreciation Week on Wheel of Fortune, and EF Educational Tours is proud to be a part of it.

EF is providing a different educational tour as a prize each day this week. Destinations include China; Italy and Greece; Spain; Berlin and Prague; and Costa Rica.

There are still two more days to tune in. To find where to catch the show, go to the Wheel of Fortune website and enter your Zip code on the right-hand side.

Gladiators to battle at Colosseum

If you've visited the Colosseum in Rome, then you've likely seen gladiators roamin' around. They are actors dressed in costumes trying to make an easy buck (or, more accurately, 20 euros) by posing for photos with tourists.

If you visit this summer, though, you could see real-life gladiators doing battle at the Colosseum for the first time in more than 1,500 years.

The city of Rome recently announced plans to stage gladiator fights in or near the Colosseum. Well-trained gladiator actors in authentic costumes would engage in choreographed, historically accurate battles with real weapons such as swords and tridents.