World Challenge is looking for four Guest Bloggers!  Apply NOW if you:

• Traveled with World Challenge, and LOVED your expedition.
• Are an aspiring writer & social media guru.

Internship Details:

We’ll give you a blog category (or you can suggest your own) and access to our blog as an “author/editor.”  You’ll create hip and engaging blog posts for immediate publication.  We’re looking for interesting ideas, clean writing (with your own humor and flare),  and lots of photos, video links, etc.  You’ll be asked to write a minimum of 6 blogs (with help from our staff editors) between Feb 15th and June 1st 2012.

Possible categories include:

• Training & Fitness
• Gear
• Destination Inspiration (local culture, holidays, food, etc)
• Earning & Money Management
• What to Expect (stories from expedition)

How to apply.

Email application to info@wcexpeditions.com by Friday February 10th.  Applications should include:

1. Your name and age.
2. Which expedition you traveled with (destination, year of travel, name of school).
3. A cover letter: tell us why you’re a good fit for the blog and what you’re doing now.
4. A writing sample: describe your favorite or most difficult moment from expedition, 200 words or less.

Internship Perks

• Put World Challenge Blogger on your resume with links to your content.
• Have your photo & bio featured on the “Staff” section of the blog.
• Gain experience writing for a professional blog.
• Learn from editorial feedback.
• Re-live your expedition AND help get challengers excited at the same time!

Their holiday cookie dough sale and raised load of cash!  Read on to learn more about why Needham HS is our Team of the Month!

What’s the angle?     From past years, the team knew that cookie dough is always a big seller around the holidays!  (People buy for themselves and also as presents for others.)  Plus it’s a one of the easiest fundraisers to organize. 

How did they pull it off?     Posters.  Facebook.  Twitter.  They did it all, spreading the word to classmates, friends, and family! 

They sold classic cookie dough, Auntie Anne’s pretzels, brownie dough, and candles from the company Classic Cookie. 

They earned $1355.20!!  GO team!

Want to get a piece of the action?  Here’s how to sell a product at your school:

1. Pick a company and product you want to sell.  (we recommend Classic Cookie or Equal Exchange.
2. Advertise to classmates, friends and family.
3.  Sell, sell, sell!
4. Deliver the goods to your customers on time!
5. Have fun!

Expeditions take teams through fascinating colonial cities and remote indigenous villages (for meaningful service projects), along ancient trekking routes (where you can summit 5 of the county’s best volcanoes in just 5 days), and include some well-earned time for R&R on the beautiful beaches.

Sound about right?  Well then, Nicaragua is the destination for you.

Click to view slideshow.

• LANGUAGE:  Official language is Spanish, and although Spanish is spoken throughout the country it has great variety in vocabulary, accents that can vary between towns
• RELIGION:  Nicaragua is predominantly Roman Catholic, although Nicaragua has no official religion.  Religion is a significant part of the culture of Nicaragua.
• CULTURAL NOTES:  Baseball is the most popular sport played in Nicaragua and you can see pick-up games almost everywhere you look.   Dennis Martínez, who was the first baseball player from Nicaragua to play in Major League Baseball, became the first Latin-born pitcher to throw a perfect game!
• NOT TO BE MISSED:  Ometepe Island is a must see when traveling to Nicaragua. An island formed by two volcanoes rising from Lake Nicaragua,  it is the largest volcanic island inside a fresh water lake in the world.  While visiting the island you can attempt two volcano summits or just enjoy the beaches and waterfalls.

What to see it first hand?  We know you do!

Learn about our Expeditions to Nicaragua in 2012/2013!

We’re passing the challenge on to you and your team:

1. Pick a book.  Check out this list or find your own.
2. Read it! 
3. Talk about it.  Organize a book swap with your team.

After you put down your book, you’ll no doubt want more adventure – just in time for expedition!

*Lonely Planet is perhaps the most famous travel resource.  (If you don’t konw what they do, look it up; it will come in handy on expedition!)  World Challenge has an exclusive Lonely Planet discount for Parents, Students and Teachers!  Visit their website and enter the code, WCLP25, to get 25% off all books!

Expeditions are all about teamwork … however, on every team there are some Challengers that go above and beyond … Introducing the WC Honor Roll!

Honoree – January 2012:  Emily, is an alumni Challenger from Swampscott High School who traveled to Argentina in 2008 and Madagascar in 2010.  She is currently a Sophomore at Boston University and plans to study Spanish, Chinese and Arabic, with hopes of becoming a translator and travel around the world.  While in Madagascar she went lemur spotting on a night trek in Ranomafana National Park; she saw the Iguazu Falls and learned to tango in Argentina.  Before she embarked in her two adventures, Emily paid for both of her World Challenge trips entirely on her own. 

Q:  How did you earn for your expedition?

A:   I was a freshman when World Challenge came to my high school, and I was not about to miss out on it!  The cost of the trip was $5,600, I remember thinking my parents would never go for it.  To my surprise, they thought it would be an excellent experience and encouraged me to learn more about the trip and to find a job.  I got a job as a cashier at Stop and Shop working 10-12 hours a week during the school year so I didn’t fall behind on my work, but worked 5-6 days a week during the summer.

 Breakdown of fundraising

• Stop and Shop: $4,000
• Odd Jobs (babysitting, yard work, household chores): $300
• Total amount: $4,300

Q:  How did you fundraise with your team?

A:  Our team set up several fundraisers to try and earn as much money as we could.  We had a rule that if a person does not participate in the fundraising, they will not receive any of the money made from it.

Breakdown of Team fundraising 

• Multiple bake sales: $200
• Friday morning coffee and donuts: $100
• We bought a soda machine that we put in the teachers room and collected the profits: $350
• We went to town meetings and sat with a booth explaining our trip and we kindly asked for donations (most parents were enthusiastic to help): $250
• Asked local businesses for any donations of money or gift cards that we could raffle: $300
• One team member had season tickets to the Red Sox games and we raffled off several tickets that the family donated: $600
• Total amount: about $1,800

Q:  Do you have any top tips for other Challengers?

A:  I think the BEST [tip] is to fully embrace the opportunity.  The key to having a great time is to develop close relationships with the other members, be optimistic, daring and adventurous, and bring multiple decks of cards!!

Q:  Overall how has your World Challenge experience impacted your life?

A: My adventure to Argentina is still something that I look back on now in my sophomore year of college, almost 4 years later.  I still talk to all my friends from the trip about how we wish we could go back and relive that magical month.  I know it is cliché to say, but the trip really changed my life.  This trip really opened my eyes to the world and it truly offered me a chance of a lifetime.  I definitely developed the travel bug from because right when I got back I signed up to go to Madagascar with my school two years later.  I certainly believe that my two trips are still influencing my decisions in life, and as I look back now on all my accomplishments, I am so proud to say that was me.  I did it.

Click to view slideshow.

Do you want to make Honor Roll?  Email us about your successes!

Try whipping up this simple recipe, which was given to us from a World Challenge staff member!

Ingredients:

• Quinoa
• Eggplant
• Brussel Sprouts
• Garlic
• Indian Curry Powder
• Salt
• Pepper
• Olive Oil
• Goat Cheese

Place water in a small covered saucepan and bring to a boil.  Add Quinoa and stir.  Reduce heat to a simmer and replace lid.  Let it sit for 11-12 minutes, or until water is absorbed.

Once the quinoa is cooked, fluff it with a fork.

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.  Peel eggplant and cut into cubes.  Cut brussel sprouts in half.  Remove skin from 4 cloves of garlic.  Place these ingredients in a Pyrex dish and drizzle with olive oil.  Cover veggies in Indian Curry powder and sprinkle salt and pepper.  Cook for 30 minutes or until veggies are soft.

Combine in large sauce pan the cooked quinoa and the veggies and add a bit more olive oil.  Fry the combination while thoroughly mixing it and adding more Indian Curry powder.  Add creamy goat cheese to the mixture to your own taste.

Serve and enjoy!

Madagascar has been described as a ‘living museum’ or ‘lost Eden’ and also referred to as the Red Island, due to the red color of its soil. Over 80% of its flora and fauna is unique to the country, making it a biologist’s paradise.   Half of the world’s chameleon species live in Madagascar, and it home to the hissing cockroach.  Culturally it is a unique blend of South East Asian and East African influences, and the lively and colorful Malagasy people form as interesting a back drop as the spectacular geography and wildlife.  Largely untouched by tourists, Madagascar does not have the same infrastructure as other developing countries. This makes it all the more challenging and exciting as an expedition destination. Whether you are travelling by foot or boat every journey will be an adventure.  Madagascar has no lions, giraffes, zebras, or hippos. The fossil record shows that hippos once lived on the island, but scientists think they went extinct about 1,000 years ago!

Do you know where this photo is taken?  Take our poll below!

Did you guess last week’s “Where In The World”?  Check it out here!

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Visiting the ancient Incan city of Machu Picchu is an experience not to be missed but how you getting there can be just as epic.

World Challenge offers the Salkantay trek to it’s challengers; this off the beaten path trek provides an authentic perspective of an original Incan trail that is rarely seen by travelers to this region. Challengers journey up through the Andes passing coffee and banana plantations along the way and being awed by vistas of Mt. Salkantay’s snow-capped peaks. In fact, this trek is so up and coming that National Geographic listed it as one of their “ultimate adventures“. Grab your chance to see this amazing trek while it’s pristine and not overrun with tourists.

This trek is available on the World Challenge Independent expedition, Ecuador Andes Exploration or ask about it during your school group’s itinerary planning meeting.

Ecuador!

When the clock strikes midnight, Ecuadorians burn the “ano viejo” (meaning “Old Year” in English) represented by a homemade puppet.  People burn these puppets as a way of throwing away all of the bad of the past year, symbolizing what they do not want to repeat in the new year.

Mongolia!

Mongols celebrate Tsagaan Sar (which means white moon or white month) as the lunisolar New Year festival. Around the new ear families burn candles at the altar symbolizing enlightenment.  Mongols visit friends and family on this day and exchange gifts. A typical Mongol family will meet in the home of the eldest in the family.  Many will be dressed in full garment of national Mongol costumes.  The eldest receives greetings from each member of the family and during the greeting ceremony, family members hold long pieces of colored cloth called khadag. After, the entire family exchanges gifts.

India!

Hindu New Year is a time of festivity. This is the time to meet and greet people and share gifts and sweets. Hindus will paint their houses, decorate and light up lamps and candles in the evening.  Plowing is an important part of new year celebration. In some parts of India,  new years celebration is marked with the beginning of the harvest session.  They do this by hosting welcoming springtime festivities as a way of adding richness to the India way of life.