Russell and Carla Fisher were intent on expanding the horizons of their daughters, 13-year-old Lesley and 12-year-old Andrea, and they came up with a plan that shocked everyone they knew. The Fishers would put their conventional, suburban Texas lives aside for a year and travel around the world! They could think of no greater gift to give their children. Using the guiding principles of self-reliance, compassion and persistence, Russell and Carla taught the girls more than they could ever have learned in a classroom. In 376 days and across 50,000 miles, the Fisher Family explored Great Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia, Estonia, Russia, The Czech Republic, Germany, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, India, Thailand, China, Japan, Australia and Rarotonga. The entire family was involved in both the planning and budgeting of the trip, and they home schooled the entire time. Their accommodations were frequently economical hostels and flats, they prepared many of their own meals, laundered their own clothes, practiced speaking foreign languages and using foreign currencies, and they often walked, jogged or used local public transportation to explore both famous and out-of-the-way sites. WorldTrek includes trip-planning and budgeting appendixes to help readers plan their own around-the-world trip.