Transitions Abroad Magazine January / February 2006 Vol. XXIX, NO.4

From The Editor

It looks to be a good new year for life-enriching travel, with voluntourism and responsible travel on the rise, study abroad’s continued record growth (it’s up another 9.6 percent from 2004, according to the Institute for International Education), and more North Americans working and living abroad. (Web Editor's Note: See a map on the site of the current American expatriates provided by the Association of American Residents Living Overseas).

But while thoughtful, learning-based travel and community-based tourism are increasing, so too is the darker side of travel: the prostitution of women and children in tourism. The nonprofit organization End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography, and the Trafficking of Children estimates that more than one million children worldwide are drawn into the sex trade each year. The response to the epidemic, particularly in countries with unstable governments, has been largely ineffective.

A number of international organizations, however, are working to eliminate commercial sexual exploitation of women and children. (See a list of these organizations in the Transitions Abroad Nov/Dec 2005 issue.) In this issue we include a profile of Cambodian Somaly Mam (page 18), a former child prostitute who risked her life to found an international NGO that provides shelter, education, and professional training to prostituted children and young women. This feature on Somaly represents Transitions Abroad’s continuing focus on activist responsible travel.

New this time is a section called “Postings” (page 13). With the internet boom and the glut of travel information online, we’ll try to help you uncover the most interesting and useful resources and content available. In each issue, we’ll highlight travelers’ firsthand recommendations, alternative travel news, and travel providers’ latest and best offerings.

At the same time, our Webmaster will help you identify the most worthwhile blogs. He says, “In each issue we will look at blogs of interest as this medium matures into a mode that combines inspiring narratives and journalistic snapshots in the able hands of travel writers or travelers with an eye and a message.”

This issue’s featured blogger is Joshua Berman. His choice of destinations on his round-the-world itinerary, which includes Cambodia and Thailand, is timely: these are two of the six Mekong River countries (the others are Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Yunnan Province of China) that are part of a recently developed long-term tourism strategy to promote the Mekong as a single destination (see www.visit-mekong.com/welcome/message_escap.htm and www.unescap.org/jecf/p08tourism.htm). The plan is to help distribute the benefits of tourism more widely and contribute to poverty reduction, gender equality and empowerment of women, and sustainable development while minimizing adverse impacts.

With the rapid development of many Asian countries, the timing is no surprise. For those considering short-term work such as teaching English, the market is booming in China and in regional capitals in Taiwan, Thailand, and South Korea. To learn more about short-term work opportunities to fund your travels or as a stepping-stone to international careers, turn to Susan Griffith’s Best Short-Term Jobs Resources (page 46).

Those researching an international career move will want to read our new columnist Jean-Marc Hachey’s “International Career Adviser” (page 84). Hachey’s The BIG Guide to Living and Working Overseas, now in its 4th edition, is one of the most important sources for North Americans seeking international work and training. In each issue, Hachey will provide expert advice on career planning, job searching, and choosing specific professions abroad.

In the next issue, which focuses on study abroad (and in which we announce the student writing contest winner), Hachey will address the topic of job strategies while studying abroad.

—Sherry Schwarz

As we focus our attention on Asia, please keep in mind the earthquake survivors in Pakistan’s relief camps. Winter conditions, poor hygiene, hunger, and the possible outbreak of disease threaten their lives. According to UNICEF, $5 can provide an emergency health kit for one person for three months, with medical supplies and drugs to cover basic needs.

Transitions Abroad

Publisher and Editor
Sherry Schwarz
Founding Editor and Publisher
Dr. Clay A. Hubbs
Web Content Editor
Gregory Hubbs
Design
Nashima Gokani
Advertising Manager
Kate McGrail
Office Manager
Patricia Bolognani
Editorial Assistant
Jessica Hayden
Intern
Victoria Churchill

Contributing Editors

Alison Gardner (Senior Travel)
Bill Mohan (Teen Travel)
Cynthia Harriman (Family Travel)
Deborah McLaren (Responsible Travel )
Edward Trimnell (Language Immersion)
Kathy Widing (Travel Books)
Michele Scheib (Disability Travel)
Rick Steves (Budget Travel)
Rob Sangster (Independent Travel)
Ron Mader (Ecotourism and Latin America)
Susan Griffith (Work Abroad )
Volker Poelzl (Living Abroad)
William Nolting (International Education and Work)
Zahara Heckscher (Volunteering Abroad)

On The Cover
A boy from the ethnic Lao Loum group, which traditionally resided in the Mekong River Valley. Photo by Mark van Luyk. While making a documentary for Mekong Eye Doctors in March 2005, van Luyk visited a remote school located between the paddyfields near Ban Nammuang in Laos. He captured the image of this boy running toward him for the chance to get acquainted and speak English.

Mark van Luyk is a passionate and instinctive photographer and designer. In his work, he strives to capture the essence of life, the human struggle, pain and joy (markvanluyk.nl).

Mission Statement
Founded in 1977 by Clayton Allen Hubbs, Ph.D., Transitions Abroad is the only publication dedicated to work, study, living, volunteering, and immersion travel abroad. Its purpose is the dissemination of practical information leading to a greater understanding of other cultures through direct participation in the daily life of the host community.