Following the Equator

Our 10 Best of 2008

This is the 320th post of 2008 at Following the Equator, and we decided to commemorate our blog's first full calendar year with a top-10 list of favorite posts.

We had a lot of stories, videos, photos, interviews, tips and perspectives about educational travel. We launched some regular weekly features, including our Tip of the Week and Photo of the Week. We debuted Life on Tour, introduced EF on YouTube and EF on Facebook and promoted the EF Tours group on Flickr (above). And, along the way, we encountered a lot of inspiring travelers.

Following the Equator also was nominated for a Blogger's Choice Award and finished fifth out of 1,177 blogs for Best Travel Blog. Thank you to everyone who supported our blog in 2008 by voting, reading, sharing, commenting and subscribing. We're looking forward to an even more successful 2009.

Group Leader Spotlight: Joyce Schaller

EF Group Leader Joyce Schaller, a high school English teacher from Nokesville, Virginia, knows there is nothing quite as exciting as learning about literature by experiencing it firsthand. That's why she takes her students on educational tours with EF.

Joyce—pictured above with her students at Hadrian's Wall in Scotland—took the time to tell us more about why travel is so important for her students, connecting her curriculum to her tours and where she wants to go next:

Around the World recap (and photos)

We finally got a chance to catch up with Matt Borrello, who returned to EF last week after his around-the-world tour.

Matt, a regional sales manager with EF Educational Tours, won an internal EF contest to travel to four of the world's wonders and chose to bring his mother, Lucille, on the whirlwind journey.

Matt told us all about the stunning sights, the wonderful people and the exhausting flights. By our calculation, Matt and his mom traveled nearly 30,000 miles on 12 flights.

"It was fun and exciting," Matt said, "but it was also a challenge because we had 12 different flights to meet."

Around the World: Back home

After circling the globe on a whirlwind tour of the world's wonders, Matt Borrello and his mother, Lucille, have returned safely home. Matt emailed this morning after completing their around-the-world trip with EF:

"I just wanted to let everyone know that I am now back in the United States and arrived home safely. 

"Overall, my mother and I had a fantastic experience on this trip, and we are looking forward to sharing those memories with everyone soon. 

"Also, it appears that Jetstar has located our luggage and will be sending it back to our home. When the luggage will actually appear, no one knows!"

Despite the aforementioned lost luggage, our lucky contest winners saw the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Taj Mahal, the Great Barrier Reef and the Great Wall of China. Talk about a once-in-a-lifetime trip!

We will try to catch up with Matt next week to get more details on the trip—and hopefully see some photos.

Around the World: Great Wall of China

Matt Borrello and his mother, Lucille, have nearly completed their around-the-world trip with EF. They are in Beijing on the final stop of their world tour. Matt emailed this morning after visiting the Great Wall of China:

"I just wanted to let you know that my mother and I have just finished seeing the Great Wall! It was a terrific experience, and I cannot believe how steep the wall is to walk up. Unfortunately, it was raining while seeing the wall, so it hurt our experience a little bit. 

"We also just ate at a very nice restaurant called the Peking Duck. I would have to say it was our best meal on the trip. A chef comes out in front of your table and cuts up an already cooked duck and serves it to you."

That means they've visited the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Taj Mahal, the Great Barrier Reef and the now Great Wall of China in less than two weeks. Our weary world travelers are headed home soon, and we'll catch up with Matt next week.

Photo: jaaron via Flickr

Around the World: Live from Cairns

When you're traveling around the world in 18 days, you've probably got to expect a bump in the road (or two).

That's been the case with Matt Borrello and his mother, Lucille, who are circling the globe on an around-the-world trip with EF. Matt and his mom have arrived safely in Cairns, Australia, after a couple of hiccups in their itinerary.

Around the World: Departing Cairo

Matt Borrello and his mother, Lucille, have completed the first leg of their around-the-world journey with EF.

Matt called this morning from the Cairo airport, reflecting on their stay in Egypt. Here's what he said about the pyramids, the Cairo Museum and the wonderful people:

They are now flying to New Delhi (via Istanbul, Turkey), and Matt will check in from India.

To follow along at Following the Equator, check back soon or subscribe via an RSS reader or email (in the sidebar on the right). You also can read our original post and see our interactive map.

Around the World: Pyramids and Sphinx

On the first day of sightseeing of their around-the-world trip with EF, Matt Borrello and his mother, Lucille, braved the Egyptian heat to enter the pyramids, see the Sphinx and visit Memphis.

Hear Matt's take on the tombs, the temps and tomorrow's itinerary:

Keep following along as Matt calls in to Following the Equator.
For more details about his trip, check out our original post and
our interactive map.

Photo: Sam and Ian via Flickr

Around the World: Matt arrives in Egypt

Matt Borrello and his mother, Lucille, arrived safely today in Cairo, Egypt, for the first stop on their 18-day, around-the-world trip with EF Educational Tours.

Matt's first observation of Cairo was about the "unbelievable" traffic. He called this morning with this update:

Matt heads to the pyramids tomorrow, so stay tuned for more updates. For more details on Matt's trip, read our original post and check out our interactive map.

Around the World in 18 Days

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The Great Pyramid of Giza, the Taj Mahal, the Great Barrier Reef and the Great Wall of China.

Matt Borrello had dreamed of visiting one or two of the world's great wonders at some point. Now, he's going to see all four over the next three weeks. He embarks Sunday on an around-the-world trip, traveling to Cairo, Egypt; New Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, India; Cairns, Australia; and Beijing, China.

Matt, a regional sales manager with EF Educational Tours, was the lucky winner of an internal EF contest to travel around the world in 18 days.