Following the Equator | EF's Educational Travel Blog

Photo of the Week: Pura Vida

"Pura Vida"—which translates to "the pure life"—is a common cultural expression in Costa Rica, popularized by the 1956 film appropriately titled Pura Vida.

"Pura Vida" also is a most appropriate title for this magical photo of Costa Rica's Arenal Volcano, which was submitted to the EF Tours group on Flickr by jessicaxxxrae.

If you have a great destination photo, submit it to the EF Tours pool on Flickr. We pick a new Photo of the Week every Thursday.

Photo: jessicaxxxrae via Flickr (EF Tours pool)

Photo contest winner: Tortuguero

The only thing better than traveling with friends is meeting new ones along the way. Kayla Bess and her friends discovered that this spring on their EF tour to Costa Rica.

Kayla, a high school junior from Nashville, Tennessee, won EF's student photo contest for submitting this photo to the EF Tours group on Flickr. As one of two grand-prize winners, she will receive an iPod Touch. Kayla won the friends photo competition; the winner of the destination photo contest was featured here yesterday.

"Wow! I can't believe I won," said Kayla, who is pictured on the far left with the blue EF backpack. "I'm so excited. This is awesome!"

Photo contest winner: Reflection

This extraordinary photo of the Eiffel Tower's reflection has long been a favorite. Now, it's official: It's the winner of EF's student photo contest.

Donnie Morrow, a high school junior from Sarasota, Florida, took this photo on his EF tour to Paris last spring. As one of two grand-prize winners, Donnie will receive an iPod Touch. Donnie won the destination photo competition; the friends photo contest winner will be featured here tomorrow.

Donnie, who is at the top of his junior class and planning on majoring in engineering and/or applied or pure mathematics, says photography is neither a hobby nor a passion. He said it's "just something that I tend to be effective at, and I like to catalog the places I go."

On his EF tour in 2008 to London, Dover and Paris, Donnie captured a uniquely wonderful image of the world's most photographed landmark.

Photo of the Week: Mount Pilatus

One of the wonders of traveling is seeing the seemingly simple things for the first time. Sometimes, it occurs in the most spectacular setting.

Imagine seeing snow for the first time—on top of Mount Pilatus in Switzerland. That's what happened to whittykitty32055, who submitted this photo to the EF Tours group on Flickr.

"First time I saw snow, and it was absolutely gorgeous to look at," the photographer wrote. The photo is proof positive.

If you have photos of your own travel discoveries, submit them to the EF Tour pool on Flickr. We pick a new Photo of the Week every Thursday.

Photo: whittykitty32055 via Flickr (EF Tours pool)

Cyber Summit on 21st Century Skills

Cookie Monster's got it right: Global awareness is key to the success of students in the 21st century.

Global awareness is just one of several 21st century skills that students need to compete in today's interconnected world. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills—of which EF Education First is a board member—works with education, business and legislative leaders to infuse those skills into an educational framework.

The Cyber Summit on 21st Century Skills—which will be held online from June 1 to 12—is a way for everyone across the nation, including educators, administrators, business people, policy makers and parents, to learn and interact to advance the 21st century skills movement. Most importantly, the cyber summit gives all of us a voice in the future of our students' education.

Made in China

China has excelled at mass-production assembly lines, given the sheer volume of Chinese-made products in the world marketplace. So there's nothing unusual about a Chinese assembly line turning out thousands of soldier action figures, pieced together from pre-fabricated arms, legs and torsos.

You might raise an eyebrow, though, upon hearing their size: These figures are life-sized (between 6 feet and 6 feet 5 inches tall). Or upon hearing how, despite the assembly-line nature of the rest of the body, each face is specially-crafted to be unique.

And though plastic is the material of choice for such figures, these soldiers are made of fired clay. And instead of a "Made in China" stamp, the individual pieces carry the name of the workshop that made them.

If you're interested in acquiring one, you're out of luck. These soldier figures have been discontinued; the last one rolled off the assembly line 2,220 years ago.

Photo of the Week: Las Ramblas

Las Ramblas—the legendary, tree-lined street through central Barcelona—is actually a series of five shorter streets (Rambla de Canaletes, Rambla dels Estudis, Rambla de Sant Josep, Rambla dels Caputxins and Rambla de Santa Monica) plus a wooden walkway known as Rambla de Mar.

This photo overlooking Las Ramblas was submitted to the EF Tours group on Flickr by queenofsquirrels. Add your own travel photos to the EF pool on Flickr. We select a new Photo of the Week every Thursday.

Photo: queenofsquirrels via Flickr (EF Tours pool)

Focus On: San Fernando's remains

May 30 in Seville is the day of San Fernando, or Saint Ferdinand. In life, he was Fernando III—the "III" because he was also king of the Spanish kingdoms of Castile and León—and he famously led the Catholic reconquering of Seville from the Moors in 1248. He died on May 30, 1252.

This may not sound terribly interesting yet, but I'm getting to the good part: Every May 30 in the Seville Cathedral, a gold and silver altar is opened to reveal none other than the preserved remains of Fernando.

The annual event is open to the public (that's how I got in). Though no photos are allowed, the video below (perhaps unauthorized) captures the official "opening" ceremony and provides a close-enough view of Fernando to make out the royal garb and kingly crown.

Note the soldiers standing dutifully by; San Fernando is not just a religious figure but a military one as well.

Life on Tour voting details

There's still plenty of time for high school students to apply for EF's reality travel series, Life on Tour—and there's plenty of time to get out the vote.

EF Educational Tours already has extended the casting deadline to Friday, May 22. For details on how to enter, you can check out EF's Casting Call on Facebook or read our latest blog post.

Four of the six cast members will be selected by EF and the series producers based on their audition videos and subsequent interviews. Two cast members will be selected by a popular vote on Facebook.

Friday Fun Fact: Japan's Imperial Family

The world's longest continuous hereditary monarchy is in Japan.

Japan's Imperial Family, or the Yamato Dynasty, dates back to 660 B.C., when Emperor Jimmu legendarily "founded" Japan. The Imperial Family lists its line of succession through 125 generations, including the current monarch, Emperor Akihito, who inherited the throne 20 years ago.

A grateful tip of the hat to EF's resident trivia expert, Nicholas Brankle, for this week's Friday Fun Fact.

Photo of the Week: Blarney Castle

Blarney Castle, just outside of Cork, Ireland, is a prominent historic site in its own right. A wooden structure was first built here in about A.D. 950, and the current castle (the third one) dates back to 1446.

But it's one stone at the top of the castle's tower that draws all the attention: the Stone of Eloquence, better known as the Blarney Stone. Legend holds that anyone who kisses the stone will receive the "gift of eloquence." The catch, however, is that the stone is set in the wall below the battlements, so you have to hold an iron rail and lean backward from the parapet walk to reach it.

This photo of the castle was taken by wanderlust_23, who submitted it to the EF Tours group on Flickr.

If you have a destination photo from your tour, add it to the EF Tours pool on Flickr. We choose a new Photo of the Week every Thursday. And if you've ever visited Blarney Castle and kissed the Blarney Stone, share your story in the comments section below.

Photo: wanderlust_23 via Flickr (EF Tours pool)

Casting extended for Life on Tour

There's now more time to apply for EF's reality travel series, Life on Tour.

Due to popular demand, EF Educational Tours has extended the casting deadline to Friday, May 22 for high school students to submit their audition videos to star in the second season of Life on Tour.

Students who are interested in traveling to Europe for free this summer and starring in an online reality series just need to submit a two-minute video introducing themselves and explaining why they want to travel abroad.

All video submissions should be uploaded to EF's Casting Call on Facebook by the end of the day on May 22. On Facebook, you also can vote for your favorites. EF will announce more specific details about the voting this week.

For more about Life on Tour, check out:

• Life on Tour's entire first season
• EF's Casting Call on Facebook
• Life on Tour posts on Following the Equator