Travel, Writing, and Love: Reviewing a Great Year

Happy New Year from India… and WOWZA, what a year it’s been! Since I have limited internet access in India, I will not begin publishing articles about this remarkable country until I return to Boston in early January, but until then, enjoy this recap of 2012, accompanied by photos of a wonderful performance we just saw in Jaipur.

If any references below intrigue you, click through for full articles and photos. Now…

My Statistics For 2012:

• 7 Countries Visited: A teacher tour in Spain in January, China with a student group in February, an educator trip through Greece in April, crazy Wedding World in July (yes, I am counting this), our honeymoon in Belize in August, and a short visit to the UK before flying to India in December!
• 5 Weekend Trips in the USA: Rural New Hampshire, Ogonquit in Maine, Cape Cod, the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts, and… Ohio.
• 135 Articles Written: 65 on Around the World “L”, 58 on Teaching Traveling, 4 for the Gates Foundation blog, 3 for the Huffington Post, 1 for the Boston Public blog, and 4 for Education Week.
• 413,518 Pageviews on My Websites: 310,205 on Around the World “L” Travel Blog and 103,313 on Teaching Traveling… with visits growing each month!

• 3 Articles With Over 10,000 Reads: “Our Witty, Pretty Resort in Belize” (53,939 views), “Amazing Fall Foliage” (16,434 views), and “How to Never Lose Anything” (14,710 views).
• 12 Student Articles published about our China Tour.
• 5,977 Twitter followers now, and 3,502 Facebook fans from both fan pages.
• 1 Amazing Wedding, and 1 Reality TV Show Appearance!

• 5 Big Conferences Attended: The TBEX Travel Blogger Conference in Colorado, leading Meet Plan Go Boston Career-Break Travel Conference, Bellwether Education Bloggers Conference, EdCamp Boston, and Social Media for Nonprofits.
• 4 Sponsored Tours: Boston Chocolate Tour, Belize Snorkeling Tour, Boston African American History Tour, and Spain Teacher Training Tour.
• 1,200 Facebook Shares on My Most Controversial Article: “The Career Advice That Can Change the World” on the Gates Foundation blog.
• 6 Other Exciting Milestones: Taught 280 fabulous Boston Public Schools students, gave a speech with the Mayor to open the New Boston Hostel, launched my monthly e-newsletter, founded the Education Bloggers Facebook Group , published my 500th article on Around the World “L”, and was featured in the U.S. Department of Education’s newsletter. Woo hoo!

Yay, 2012, yay! Now, let me take this opportunity to say THANK YOU to all of you who have connected with this Travel, Education, and Love Empire (yes, I said “Love Empire”) since I started it in 2009. I have big plans for 2013 and beyond, so stay tuned, share, and do continue to leave your thoughts and stories in the comments section. YOU are what makes this all such a joy to create!

Click here to see New Years in Spain where I was for December 31, 2011. Click here to see my 2011 stats.