Transitions Abroad Magazine January/February 2001

From the Publisher

As our regular readers know, Transitions Abroad details the ways to avoid superficial tourist experiences abroad and helps visitors to other countries find the information they need to see and do things in their own way and — insofar as possible — in the company of the people they’re visiting.

Of all the roads to cultural immersion none is more direct than working side by side with the members of a local community on a worthwhile project. Among the thousands of opportunities that Susan Griffith points to in her list of short-term job options abroad (page 40) some are paid, but most are volunteer. And except for teaching English in countries like Japan and South Korea, most of the short-term jobs that do pay, pay little. So unless you really need the money to pay for the next leg of your journey around the world, why not volunteer?

The rewards are immeasurable.
The costs are often negligible.
The choices are astonishingly varied.

Look at Africa, for example: You can work with homeless children in Tanzania or help build Habitat for Humanity homes in Ghana; you can join a paying group of conservation volunteers in rural Kenya or work for room and board on an organic farm in Togo. From Morocco to South Africa you can work with other international volunteers on an almost endless range of projects (pages 40-42).

And that’s just one continent.

For a flavor of what it’s like to be a volunteer turn to the first-hand reports starting on page 32. One theme emerges from all the accounts: While the reason for volunteering may have been to make a difference for others, what is remarkable is the effect on the volunteer. As with the thousands of students who go abroad each year, volunteers report that the immersion, even briefly, in a new way of life challenges previously held beliefs and leads to the discovery of new ways of thinking.

— Clay Hubbs

Editor and Publisher
Dr. Clay A. Hubbs

International Education Editors
Barbara Burn, William Hoffa, William Nolting

Contributing Editors
Kari Bodnarchuk (Travel Q & A)
Dianne Brause (Socially Responsible Travel)
Susan Griffith (Work)
Cynthia Harriman (Family)
Ron Mader (Latin America)
Deborah McLaren (Ecotourism)
William Nolting (Work)
Volker Poelzl (Living)
Kent St. John (Independent Travel)
Rick Steves (Budget Travel)
Susan Sygall (Disability Travel)
Christine Victorino(Volunteering)
Kathy Widing (Travel Books)

Business Manager
Lisa Green
Production Manager
Gian Lombardo

Content Engineer/New-Media
Joe Obeng

Office Manager
Melanie Convery

Printing
Publishers Press, Lebanon Junction, KY

Cover Photo
Luke Golobitsh
Photo Location
India

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Transitions Abroad Magazine January/February 2001 Vol XXIV. No. 4

Transitions Abroad Magazine January/February 2001
Vol XXIV. No. 4