Following the Equator | EF's Educational Travel Blog

Landon Donovan scores winning goal against Algeria

Baseball may be the all American sport, but millions of Americans cheered (and perhaps blew their vuvuzelas) Wednesday when the United States won its match against Algeria in the ninety-first minute of the game. Never before had the U.S. team won its third and final match, and it was the first time since the inaugural World Cup in 1930, that the American team had remained undefeated in the first round.

Certainly, after Wednesday’s advancing win, more Americans may join the ranks of the 3.5 billion soccer (or football, depending where you are from) fans around the world. Soccer is considered the most popular sport in the world, and the World Cup is an opportunity for 32 nations to come together for one month for the love of their sport. Perhaps, the popularity of the sport is due to the fact that it requires only an inexpensive ball so people from the poorest neighborhoods to the wealthiest cities can take part in the game. Perhaps it is the lack of complicated rules.

Whatever the case, soccer seems to transcend barriers of race, class or geography. Just ask EF Group Leader, Chad Brannon, whose students bonded with a group of Ticos when they visited a tiny town in Costa Rica. Or ask EF volunteers who traveled on a service tour to Guatemala about their favorite moments working at an orphanage, and many will mention the pickup games of soccer with the boys, played despite the fact that quite a few volunteers couldn’t speak Spanish. These are only a couple of many similar stories.

In a Washington Post article, Bill Clinton, who became a fan of soccer as an adult and witnessed Landon Donovan’s winning goal, said, “I think the big issue everywhere in the world today is there are some forces bringing us together and some forces tearing us apart. And you want the ones that are bringing us together to triumph over the ones that are tearing us apart.”

In Clinton’s opinion, soccer accomplishes that goal, bringing people with different values and ideals together in a safe and entertaining way.

Like soccer, traveling has the same effect. That’s why EF has signed on to be an official sponsor of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. With the United States now set to advance, more Americans will likely start following the World Cup, and possibly by 2014 more of us will consider soccer to be our favorite sport.

Photo Credits: AP Photo/Ross D. Frankli

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.

Dodgeball anyone? Fundraising through sports

Be honest, when was the last time you played a game of dodgeball?

Take a cue from the Aiken High School softball team and re-ignite the childhood playground game for a good cause with a dodgeball tournament fundraiser.

Sports tournaments are great fundraisers for educational tours because they invite the community to join in and spark the competitive spirit among the student body. And dodgeball is an ideal sport because people find it nostalgic, and the rules are simple.

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:

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)

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.

Madrid's bullfighting ring gets makeover

Tennis takes center stage this weekend in Madrid. But the stage will be like none other.

The Davis Cup semifinal between Spain and the United States, which begins Friday, will be held at the world's most famous bullfighting ring, Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas.

Las Ventas has been considered the home of Spanish bullfighting since it opened in 1931 in Madrid's Guindalera neighborhood. This will be the first tennis match ever held at venerable Las Ventas, which has hosted a motorcycle jumping competition and an AC/DC concert.

According to Reuters, workers built a clay court in the middle of the sandy arena in just 10 days, creating "the world's second-biggest tennis venue" behind New York's Arthur Ashe Stadium.

"It's just cool," U.S. player Andy Roddick told Reuters. "When you walk in, it's unlike any other stadium that we've ever played in."

Friday Fun Fact: Future Olympics

When the Closing Ceremony of the Olympics concludes Sunday, the world's attention will turn from Beijing to London four years hence.

London will host the 2012 Summer Olympics, becoming the first city to host the Games three times (also 1948 and 1908). The 2012 London Olympics will run from July 27 through August 12, 2012.

The site of the 2016 Summer Olympics will be chosen October 2, 2009. The four finalists are Chicago, United States; Madrid, Spain; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Tokyo, Japan.

Meanwhile, the 2010 Winter Olympics will be held in Vancouver, Canada, and the 2014 Winter Olympics will be held in Sochi, Russia.

How do you say Beijing?

If you're watching the Olympics on NBC, you're probably pronouncing China's capital city as "Bay-zhing."

But you'd be wrong. The proper pronunciation of Beijing is simply "Bay-jing." Here's the way to say it:

Google maps the Games

Want an interesting way to track the Olympic Games in Beijing? Check out Google Maps' Summer Games 2008.

Google maps the medal count by country (right now, the United States has the most medals, but China has the most golds) and pinpoints each day's events and results. But the coolest feature—as the Los Angeles Times agrees—is the stadium tab, where you can see a photo, read information and watch a video of each Olympic venue.

Here's the video tour of the National Stadium, or "Bird's Nest":

EF at the Olympics

The start of the Beijing Olympics has been riveting—from the glorious Opening Ceremony to Michael Phelps' pursuit of history.

Now, three EF staff members will get to see the Olympics in person. As the Official Language Training Services Supplier of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, EF Education First is sending a handful of employees worldwide to the Games this week and next.

Meet EF's Olympics ambassador

The Beijing Olympics begin Friday, but EF has had Olympic fever for some time already.

Not only is EF Education First the Official Language Training Services Supplier of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and not only did EF's founder, Bertil Hult, carry the Olympic torch, but EF also has its very own Olympian.

Cristina Teuscher—a New York native who now works in EF's London office—is a two-time Olympic medalist. Cristina won a gold medal in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay at the 1996 Games in Atlanta, and she won bronze in the 200-meter individual medley at the 2000 Games in Sydney.

Lately, Cristina has been traveling the world, promoting EF's role in the Olympics. Cristina visited both our Boston and Denver offices in the past couple of months, and she recently took time to answer some questions for us before traveling to Beijing for the Games.