Want to Earn $1000 for your Trip? And, no, that's not a typo...

Travelers, would you like to earn $1000 toward the cost of your trip? The EF Foundation for Foreign Study is currently seeking host families for international exchange students for the coming school year. If this is something your family is interested in, it could help out tremendously with your travel expenses.

Here's what EF says:

"Not only will host families get the personal reward of bringing the world into their homes, they will also receive a $1,000 rebate on their child’s 2009, 2010 or 2011 EF Educational Tour Program Fee. This special offer is our way of thanking the family for welcoming a young world traveler into their home, an experience everyone will always remember."

Obviously, inviting a foreign exchange student into your home is a big commitment, but it is one I urge you to consider. Your whole family will have the chance to broaden their cultural horizons without ever leaving home. Of course, host families will have to meet selection criteria set by the EF Foundation for Foreign Travel. To find out more about this opportunity, contact the EF Foundation at 1-800-447-4273 or CLICK HERE to request information via the web.

Workin' at the Carwash! (This Saturday - August 1)

Thank you to all travelers that have contacted me about the car wash this weekend. Looks like we will have a great crew on hand! Some reminders before I present the list of workers/supplies for your review:

Time/Location: 10 AM - 4PM at the Mega Foods in Chippewa
Attire: Please be aware that all volunteers must be fully dressed (t-shirt, shorts). No swimwear or revealing clothes allowed. It's not that kind of car wash. We want to represent our organization well.

Okay, that being said, here are the folks who have contacted me about working and bringing supplies (if I left anyone out, please let me know!):

Mr. Kinville - (10-4?) nozzle, bucket
Karissa - (10-12) sponges, wash cloths
Matt - (10-2) hose + cart, 3 buckets, 3 sponges
Andrea - (10-4) 2 pails
Melody (10-4)
Dylan + Friend (10-4)
Karlee (10-4)
Kiara & Janine (10-4) buckets, hose + cart, soap, rags
Olivia (10-2) bucket, sponge, towels
Mrs. Welle (10-4)

Hopefully the weather will cooperate with our efforts. If it ends up being ultra-rainy or there is severe weather predicted, I'll reassess and perhaps try to reschedule. Let's hope that doesn't happen, though.

See you Saturday!

Reminder to Italy Travelers: $300 Payment Due August 31

Note: This message only applies to those travelers on the "Alternative" Payment Plan; those on AutoPay may disregard the message as their monthly payments will continue as usual.

Travelers not on AutoPay are reminded that a $300 payment is due to EF by August 31st. This should be the second payment you have made to EF since registration (since you also paid $150 one month after enrollment). There are three ways that you can make this payment:

1.) Log on to your online account at www.eftours.com and pay via credit/debit card.

2.) Call EF's Customer Service number (1-800-665-5364) to make a payment via credit/debit card.

3.) To make a check payment via mail, use the return envelope and payment stub provided with your latest invoice. If you are not on AutoPay, you should receive a bill for this $300 payment sometime soon (by mid-August). If you do not receive an invoice, but believe you should have, contact EF via the phone number listed above.

Please do not send a check to the high school, as that will delay processing (since I will not be there on a regular basis until the end of the month and would only have to mail it anyway).

Also, please be advised that if you do not make this payment EF will add late fees to your account. And no one wants to pay late fees!!! Make sure your hard-earned money goes to your trip (and not to late fees) by making your payment on time. For mailed payments, EF must receive your payment by August 31, so don't wait until the last minute and hope it gets there on time!

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to email me at wellevk@chipfalls.k12.wi.us .

Hooray for Recessions!

Okay, well maybe recessions aren't THAT great, but the slow economy does have the added benefit of making it cheaper to travel. If you've been listening to travel tipsters on the radio and TV, they've been raving all summer about the great deals you can get on flights and vacations (provided you're willing to wait until closer to departure to scoop up the last minute deal).

Well, I have no crystal ball that can predict the future of airline travel, but apparently EF is confident enough that fares will remain low that they have lowered our departure fees for the Italy trip. By how much you ask? Well! Drumroll please.......

$13!

Okay, that may seem like nothing. However, it is much more pleasant for me to tell you that departure fees have decreased rather than increased. D-Day Trip folks will recall the awful day we learned that our departure fees were going up a good $114! That was when the gas prices were so ugly high, remember? Luckily, they did go down again (though not by that amount) eventually.

The important thing to keep in mind is that our trip departure fees (unlike the program fee) are technically subject to change until 50 days prior to departure, which is sometime in April 2010 for Italy travelers. Hopefully, the trend continues downward, but be aware that increases are possible as well.

P.S. What are departure fees? These are costs charged to EF by its airline partners. EF has no control over them...so if you ever get mad about them, blame the airlines, not EF. Sorry. Let's hope the airlines continue to be nice.

August 1 Car Wash - Planning Progress

Okay, I've heard back from a few travelers who are "in" for the car wash, but I could use some more, I think. Here's what I have so far:

Andrea will be there 10-4 and can bring sponges/wash cloths
Karissa will be there 10-12
Matt will work 10-2 and bring a hose + hose cart, 3 buckets & 3 sponges
Mr. Kinville will bring a hose, a bucket and possibly soap?
Of course, I will be on hand the whole day as well. I'll bring some tagboard and markers so we can make signs promoting our cause.

Please, spread the word as I have only heard back from these people so far. I think we'd do better with a larger crew...but of course fewer volunteers means more money for those of us that DO show... Just sayin'.

Contact me at wellevk@chipfalls.k12.wi.us with any questions...direct anyone else who would like to work to email me there as well. See you soon!

Italy Travelers: Car Wash Set for August 1

As promised! The date has been set for our car wash fundraiser, Italy Travelers! Here are the details:

Location: Mega Foods, Chippewa Falls
Date: Saturday, August 1
Time: 10-4
Supplies Needed: Hose/Hose Cart, Nozzle, Soap, Buckets, Sponges, and of course, YOU!
Other important information: No bathing suits or revealing attire, please. Shorts and a t-shirt are a must. Proceeds benefit individual travelers' accounts based on the number of hours worked.

Please email me at wellevk@chipfalls.k12.wi.us with hours you will be available to work and supplies you are willing to provide. :) Hope to hear from you soon!

Returning Travelers: Tell EF What you Thought!

I hope by now all the D-Day Travelers have recovered from jet-lag and are back in their normal routines. If you have a moment, please consider completing a brief survey to provide EF with feedback about your tour.

As Tom mentioned several times while we were traveling, EF takes its survey responses and feedback very seriously. Tour directors, local guides, hotels, restaurants, and even bus drivers depend on your positive evaluations for their continued employment with EF (and of course, if you were dissatisfied with anything, EF takes measures to correct it).

To complete a survey about our tour CLICK HERE.

I noticed that students who complete this survey are also entered in a drawing for a free digital camera, so good luck!