Following the Equator | EF's Educational Travel Blog

One of my own

In my time with EF, I have been lucky enough to attend many conventions and events where I meet staff from other EF offices. Talking to current staff, I have often heard the opener, "I went on an EF tour in high school." I always asked who the tour director was; it was fun to hear about.

People on tour always say they will stay in touch, and they often do. It is much rarer to run into people outside of another tour. Back in 2000 when I was working in our London office, someone buzzed to come in. She had been on a tour with me in 1993 and now worked for Northwest Airlines and was visiting London. She had found the EF office by chance and was meaning to ask if anyone knew me. In 1998 an ex-participant from a tour was in London working for a year. We met a few times; she developed her support for Arsenal football club and was able to enjoy them winning the championship that season.

Despite such marvellous meetings, none of my own was working for EF, until April of last year. I received an email from Kevin Lynch. He was on tour with me (A Capital Connection) as a student in 2003. I remember his group well. The group leader, Doug Tieszen, was one of the most engaging I have travelled with; few others will spend their first jet-lagged evening in Europe chatting about Kurt Vonnegut with me. A small group (seven plus Doug), they were superb together and so much fun to be around. Kevin sent me a photo with his email, taken outside our London hotel. I remember the hotel, the Blakemore, and the photo. I had, fortunately, forgotten my haircut.

Kevin had left high school and made his way to Denver and EF via college in Idaho and is now working as a regional accounts coordinator. He genuinely shared how travel with EF had made such a difference to him. I am lucky to have been part of it. One of mine, working for EF. I am so proud! Get him on as many conventions as possible; I want Kevin to share his tale with the world!

Staff Spotlight: Paul Mattesini

Starting next week, Paul Mattesini, one of EF’s best-loved tour directors, will begin posting weekly to Following the Equator. Look for his advice and musings on everything travel-related. In anticipation of his blogging debut, a little bit about Paul:


The early years: I was born and raised in the UK. At the age of 15 I took a break from school and traveled throughout Europe for five years, before returning home and completing night-school leading to the University of London, where I studied history.  


EF career path: I joined EF in 1992, and have since led more than 200 tours to 50 countries. I spent a year in Boston working in the Customized Department and I still check most customized itineraries each year. These days, I lead several tours a year, but I also work with product development, designing and adjusting tours, and look after the tour director website.

The EF family: I spent two years managing the London regional office (1999-2001), where I was responsible for allocating tours and hiring and training tour directors. I liked Michelle McHale so much as a new tour director that we married in 2004! We have a 2-year-old daughter, Izzy, and another daughter due April 25th.

Living the good life: Having lived in Spain for a few years, we are now back in rural England with a growing collection of chicken, sheep and rabbits.


Hobbies: Love backgammon, dancing with my daughter, keeping bees and cooking. As the son of an Italian chef, I was cooking from the age of six on.

Favorite sport: Arsenal football (soccer). I was a former season ticket holder, and once bought a flat so I could live less than a mile from the stadium.


Best travel destination: Thailand, without a doubt. I love it.


Favorite tour destination: Iceland was superb. Prague is a favorite city.

Around the world with EF staff: Recollections from Dublin, London and Paris

By Catherine Henkels, EF Tour Consultant

In October, I embarked on my first EF Educational Tour. I had traveled to Europe before on my own and with a group, but never on an EF tour and I was excited to find out what it was all about. The tour I went on was Dublin, London and Paris, a tour that visits three countries in only 10 days. The advantages of traveling with a group became evident pretty quickly, as it would be difficult to see as much as we did in such a short time.

I traveled with a group from Indianapolis, Indiana, and there was at least one person on the tour who had never left the state before.  The EF staff greeted the Hoosiers at the airport in Dublin, and despite many hours of travel, they were happy to be there. In what I soon learned would be a recurring theme throughout this tour, we didn’t let jetlag slow us down.

The first day in Dublin we took a walking tour to gain our bearings, and after dinner, most of the group ventured out to see what Dublin was like at night. The group leader decided that boys and girls should split up for the adventure into the city. My colleague, Emily, and I accompanied the girls to explore Dublin by night. We walked around the Temple Bar area, where street performers drew crowds. The students got a kick out of seeing the human statues and the different styles of the locals. Dublin was definitely a nice introduction to Europe for this group, which was comprised of many new travelers. There was very little in the way of language barriers and there was no need to use public transportation, as Dublin is a smaller city and easily walkable. We could gain our bearings and adjust to our new surroundings, without adding the additional maze of mass transit systems.

Our 10 Best of 2009

Thank you to everyone for reading, sharing and supporting Following the Equator in 2009. We sure enjoyed posting great stories, facts, tips and profiles about educational travel and the group leaders who make it possible.

We're already planning some exciting new things for 2010. Most of all, though, we want to hear from you. What do you want to read and see on this blog—more interviews with teachers, more amazing travel photos, more fundraising and recruiting ideas, more tidbits about the things to see and do on tour? Let us know at equator@ef.com.

As we look ahead to an exciting year of travel in 2010, we thought we'd take a quick look back at a successful 2009 and our 10 favorite blog posts of the year. Feel free to post your own comments below.

Photo of the Week: London Eye

The London Eye—Europe's biggest Ferris wheel that rises nearly 450 feet over the city and opened in 2000—has been compared to a much older European icon.

"The Eye has done for London what the Eiffel Tower did for Paris," wrote noted British architect Sir Richard Rogers, "which
is to give it a symbol and to let people climb above the city and look back down on it. Not just specialists or rich people, but everybody. That's the beauty of it: it is public and accessible, and it is in a great position at the heart of London."

I love the perspective of this photo of the London Eye, which was submitted to the EF Tours group on Flickr by Skaines.

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

Photo: Skaines via Flickr (EF Tours pool)

Group Leader Spotlight: Linda Piccolo

From attending a Wiccan wedding at Stonehenge to bribing a housekeeper to let her see the suite where Agatha Christie wrote her novels, Linda Piccolo has had her fair share of adventures while traveling abroad with her students on EF tours.

The high school English and theater teacher from Montana has even been inspired by her travels to write a play, which was published and performed by one of her drama classes last year.

In this installment of the Group Leader Spotlight, Linda shares some of her experiences, describes how important travel is for students and hints at her next travel-inspired play.

Group Leader Spotlight: Chad Brannon

Traveling has always been an integral part of Chad Brannon's life. Now, as a middle-school science teacher in Alabama, Chad is making travel an important part of his students' lives, too.

And he has the stories to prove it.

Ask him about the effect that educational travel has on his students, and he'll tell you a story about the boy who once had no direction but now credits his tour for opening his eyes, or the boy who traveled to Costa Rica and now wants to major in Spanish education and help underprivileged kids speak English, or the girl who came out of her shell after braving the zip line through the Costa Rican rainforest.

Chad—pictured above on the right with his co-group leader, John DiPlacido—is preparing to lead his fourth tour with EF, taking his students back to Costa Rica in June. He took some time out of his busy spring break to share some of his favorite stories with us:

Photo of the Week: Changing of the Guard

The Changing of the Queen's Guard outside Buckingham Palace is one of the most popular (and most photographed) sights in London.

This photo was submitted to the EF Tours group on Flickr by ls1rks. If you have any good travel destination photos, please submit them to our pool on Flickr. We choose a new Photo of the Week every Thursday.

Photo: ls1rks via Flickr

Crossing Abbey Road

There are few more iconic street crossings than the one at Abbey Road in London.

Since the Beatles famously crossed the street on the cover of their legendary Abbey Road album 40 years ago, the street has become a hugely popular tourist attraction.

Now, another band depicts a day in the life of Abbey Road in a new music video.

Gadling tipped us off to this wonderful video by Brisbane-based Blame Ringo for its song "Garble Arch." Through time-lapse photography, the video captures tourists and other passers-by re-enacting the Beatles' cover, and it's quickly becoming a viral hit.

It's hilarious (and almost hypnotic) watching people dodge traffic to get their moment in the intersection. Plus, the song is really good, too.

What do you think of the video (and the song)? Have you posed for your own photos at Abbey Road? Please let us know with your comments below.

Group Leader Spotlight: Susan Pennington

"The joy I have found in watching students learn and grow has made traveling with students one of the best decisions I’ve made in my teaching career," says EF Group Leader Susan Pennington, an English and public speaking teacher at Nerinx Hall High School in St. Louis, Missouri.

Read on to learn why Susan keeps traveling abroad and for some tips on planning an EF tour of your own.

What inspired you to begin traveling abroad with students?
When I teach poetry, fiction and creative writing, I use the images and experiences that permeate my brain to help me to understand literature and life. For me, many of these powerful images and experiences are from trips I have taken to Europe. About six years ago, I realized that if my students had similar experiences, they might make better connections between the things they study and the ways of the world, past and present.  When all this collided in my head, I decided I needed to take students to Europe to give them their own special images and experiences.

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.

Friday Fun Fact: 2009 anniversaries

Happy New Year!

The year 2009 includes several major anniversaries, including the 10th anniversary of the euro, the 250th anniversary of Kew Gardens in London and the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII taking the throne as King of England.

Most notably, though, 2009 marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Germany is planning events throughout the year, but the main celebration will be the "Festival of Freedom" at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin on November 7-9, culminating with a multimedia re-creation of the wall crashing down.

For other major events around the world this year, check out this roundup from the Times Online.

Photo: gavinandrewstewart via Flickr