Archive for February, 2009

Better Know a Program Consultant: Adam Barton

Monday, February 9th, 2009

One of our main goals with Explorations is to give everyone an opportunity to meet the fine folks who work at Explorica to help teachers take their students on educational tours across the globe.

This week’s featured Program Consultant is Adam Barton. Here’s some of our favorite excerpts from our recent interview with him:

Where did you grow up?

Marysville, WA – on a beach of the Tulalip Indian Reservation

Where did you go to college?

The University of Washington

Where have you traveled?

Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, Fiji, New Zealand & Spain

Which Explorica tours have you taken?

Madrid & Andalusia

Favorite band, movie, and/or book

Led Zeppelin, Dances with Wolves, Autobiography of a Yogi

Favorite breakfast cereal?

Cookie Crisp!

I can’t say I had any for more than 15 years, but I specifically remember loving it as a youth, both because it was cookies…for breakfast…and because it magically turned the milk into chocolate milk.  One drawback of the Cookie Crisp, however, was that it cut the roof of your mouth something fierce!

If aliens were to contact earth tomorrow, would they be more E.T. or Independence Day?

They HAVE contacted Earth, and they are both

If you could live anywhere else in the entire world, where would that be and why?

New Zealand, mastering the art of fly fishing

Which food did you love as a kid that you tried as an adult and found to be absolutely terrible?

Cottage Cheese.  Used to love it, but just thinking about it now turns my stomach.

Why were the Seattle Seahawks so bad this year?

They were haunted by Christian Okoye

Editor’s Note: Adam is clearly trying to curry my favor by bringing up an iconic Kansas City Chiefs player from my youth spent amongst the wheatfields, loping cows and threshers.

He has succeeded.

My Favorite: The Reichstag

Wednesday, February 4th, 2009

Our aim with these My Favorite: posts is to give our well-traveled Explorica employees a chance to share some of their favorite travel experiences with all of you.

This week’s my favorite comes from Senior Program Consultant Alyssa Geiger.  Take it away, Alyssa…

I lived in Berlin for six months a few years ago, and although there are many sights and activities that I would deem ‘Must Visit’, my first trip to the Reichstag left a lasting impression.

The first thing to note about visiting the Reichstag…is that it’s free! Although this can lead to very long lines during peak visiting hours, trust me, it is worth the wait.

Right as you walk in, you notice “DEM DEUTSCHEN VOLKE,” (To the German People) in big letters above the entrance.  Inscribed in 1916, this promise to the German people is currently upheld by hosting the Bundestag –Germany’s parliament.

Probably the most famous part of the Reichstag’s architecture is the enormous glass dome at the top of the building — check it out–it looks like a tornado!

From there, looking out, you can get a panoramic view of the Berlin cityscape.  Then, looking down, you can see the parliamentary set-up of the Bundestag.

A visit to the Reichstag gives travelers to Berlin an appreciation of Germany’s past, as well as a strong glimpse into it’s contemporary culture.