Following the Equator

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.

Friday Fun Fact: Chinese baby names

The Olympic spirit has caught on in China, where thousands of children have been named "Aoyun" —which means "Olympic Games."

According to the BBC, the surge began in 1992, when Beijing first applied to host the 2000 Olympics. In the past 15 years, more than 4,000 babies (most of them boys) have been named Aoyun.

The Beijing Olympics begin next month on 8/8/08.
Photo: california cowgirl1 via Flickr

Tour the Tour de France

If you want to see what it's like to ride the Tour de France (without the grueling training and incredible stamina), you can tour the route with the newest feature from Google Maps.

With Google Maps' Street View, you can virtually see the entire route of cycling's most famous race: