ORLANDO, Fla. -- Where would it be least helpful to know French: Haiti, Geneva, Brussels, Recife, or Abidjan?

Which countries share a common border: Peru and Paraguay; Austria and Romania; Latvia and Poland; or Botswana and South Africa?

And where is the world's tallest lighthouse: Canada, the United States, Italy, Japan or Alexandria?

Those were some of the questions from last year's AAA Travel High School Challenge, a travel trivia and geography contest that was won by Karan Takhar, of North Attleboro, Mass., a student at The Wheeler School.

Students interested in taking part in this year's contest must enroll by Jan. 8 at http://www.aaa.com/travelchallenge. They can then take a 15-minute online quiz between Jan. 8 and 16. State semifinalists will continue to the state finals, held March 6-8, for written, proctored tests at AAA Travel offices.

National finals for state champions are held May 19-22, at Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla., with the winner of a "travel bee" earning a $20,000 scholarship.

In addition, the top five scorers in each state who express interest in travel-related careers may submit an essay for both a state and national competition to win $56,000 in scholarships for travel-industry programs, such as hospitality or restaurant management, meeting planning, and travel agent certification.

As for the answers to those questions from last year's contest, French would not help you in Recife, a Brazilian seaport; Botswana and South Africa share a border, and Japan is home to the world's tallest lighthouse.

AAA Travel is the travel services division of the automobile association.