Get ready! Go Overseas and International TEFL Academy have teamed up to launch their first annual teach abroad contest. Applicants will teach us a word or phrase in another language for a chance to win one of several prizes.

The grand prize winner will receive a free on-site TEFL course through International TEFL Academy in their choice of Nicaragua, Costa Rica, San Diego, or Chicago, along with roundtrip airfare and housing for the duration of the course. One runner up will receive an online course, and an honorable mention will receive a Camelbak backpack.

After Norway and Iceland, Finland is the third most sparsely populated country in Europe. For years, it hung uncomfortably close to the Soviet Union; in fact, a former foreign minister listed Finland’s three top foreign threats as “Russia, Russia, and Russia.”

Sandra Kennedy has traveled extensively in China, Tibet, Europe, Ecuador, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Morocco, Mexico, Peru, Portugal, United States, Tahiti, and the Cook Islands. She taught eight years for American Internationals Schools in Paris, Lima, and Lisbon.

Standing on the banks of the Sucasari River as dusk began to settle around me, I strained to hear the sound of approaching boats over the cacophony of rainforest insects and frogs.  

What do one tropical canopy researcher, a Minnesota teacher, and a bunch of teenagers have in common? On the surface, not much. But dig a bit deeper, or rather, climb a bit higher, and you will find a shared passion for exploring and understanding the intricacies of the Amazon rainforest canopy!

As a traveler, I look for the beauty in the everyday. The colourful sunsets, the peace hidden in the whitecap of a wave, and the freedom exuded by children flying high on the swings are all joys of an adventure.

Bags are packed, equipment checked, guidebooks read and re-read. We are ready! We already know more than the average Joe about the Amazon.  If we were preparing for a test, we’d expect an A+.

What do you do if you are a 3rd grader who desperately wants to visit a rainforest?