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Transitions Abroad Magazine Nov/Dec 2004, Vol. XXVIII NO. 3

Information Exchange

Traveler’s Almanac

Abroad at Home
Travel Teaches Lessons for Home Lori Hilton

Immersion Travel
Responsible Travel Deborah McLaren
Kidnapped in Rwanda Robert Sangster
Living with the Lacandons William Breeze
Motor Homing in Europe Steve Hunt
Southern Tunisia Daniel Gabriel
Traveling in India Alex Elgar
Homestay on Lake Titicaca David A. Smith
Living Festivals Jim Kane
Know Your Seasons for the Best Travel Bargains Tim Leffel
Navigate by the Sun Jeff Goldman
Hot Air Ballooning in Cappadocia Alison Gardner

Back Door Travel
Explore Croatia’s Plitvice Lakes Rick Steves

Responsible Travel
Xochimilco Gardens Ron Mader
Traveling Through the Land of the Thunder Dragon Martin Li
Hiking for the Future Gabriel Stein
Volunteer in Guatemala Laura Campbell
Hiking Los Ixiles Claire MacDonell
Discover Western Australia’s Ningaloo Reef Charlotte Francis
Conservation Holidays Ruth Kamnitzer
Conserving Asian Elephants Michelle McCue
Ecotourism in Ghana Lauren Edwards
Responsible Travel in Brazil Volker Poelzl
Nature Vacations in Tenerife Marta Patino
Rural Community Tourism — Costa Rican Style Harriet Smith
Mayan Medicine Trails Lee Anne Hasselbacher
A Mayan Exerience Robert Gosnell

Responsible Travel Resources

Living Abroad
Finding a Flat Nicholas Gill
Learning to Speak Local Brigid Alverson

Working Traveler
International Schools Jobs Jarett Emert
International School Route Cory Scott
How to Work Abroad After College Katie Krueger

International Careers
Become a Foreign Trade Show Salesman Seth Leighton

Learning Traveler
The Monkey Hunt Shoshanna Sumka
Homestays in Malaysia Michele Peterson

Marketplace

Classifieds

Program News & Notes

Transitions Abroad
Geotourism Tracy Baginski McGinnis

From the Editor

Since founding Transitions Abroad in 1977, Dr. Clay A. Hubbs has published thousands of articles exemplifying travel at its best — people-to-people exchanges that enrich both the host and visitor alike. In his own travels Clay has strived to go the step further of leaving a place better than he found it. This seems fitting to share with you, for even when Clay is not traveling he upholds this philosophy. During a 2-year struggle with a life-threatening cancer, Clay has still managed to remain an integral part of each issue, from selecting and editing articles to ensuring that Transitions Abroad continues to encourage travel that is educational and transformative.

I am very happy to report that this summer Clay had a long-awaited and successful bone marrow transplant. While on the road to recovery, he has continued to work on this issue of Transitions Abroad. During a telephone call only two weeks after his surgery (when he probably should have been resting), Clay suggested we change the name of our lead section to “Immersion Travel” in order to better reflect the interaction with locals that is characteristic of Transitions Abroad articles. And since giving back to the people in the countries where we travel is an essential part of immersion travel, Clay also proposed a new column: “Activist Responsible Travel.”

We introduce this new column with contributing editor Rob Sangster’s inspiring piece on founding a water sanitation company after his first visit to Africa. I encourage you to read the article and consider Clay’s call for submissions on ways to give back to the people in the countries where you travel.

In this spirit of responsible travel, we interview Transitions Abroad responsible travel editor Deborah McLaren, author of Rethinking Tourism & Ecotravel. In the July/August issue, Deborah offered the best resources for responsible travel. Ron Mader, Transitions Abroad ecotravel editor and founder of Planeta.com, now follows up in this issue with an additional selection of responsible travel and ecotravel resources.

While “ecotourism” is a buzzword, it is still in its nascence. Too often ecotourism development is imposed on a community from the outside. This is changing, however, thanks to people like Deborah and Ron, and the many other Transitions Abroad editors, writers, and readers who arrange their travel with the locals of a host country. Locals have a vested interest in seeing the whole of their community flourish — not just the environment, but also their people and their lifestyle.

The tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, one of the world’s top ten bio-diversity hot spots, is a prime example of what is possible when tourism policy is generated from within a community. With its conscious control of tourism and development, Bhutan has managed to protect its people’s way of life and its environment, while accommodating responsible travelers like Martin Li (see “Traveling Through the Land of the Thunder Dragon”). Although Bhutan is opening its doors, unlike so many countries that have tragically sold out to the top tourism dollar, it is doing so with caution and respect for its people’s needs, deeply held beliefs, and reverence for nature.

Sherry Schwarz

Publisher and Editor
Sherry Schwarz
Founding Editor and Publisher
Dr. Clay A. Hubbs
Web Content Editor
Gregory Hubbs

Contributing Editors
Alison Gardner (Senior Travel)
Susan Griffith (Work)
Cynthia Harriman (Family Travel)
Zahara Heckscher (Volunteering)
Ron Mader (Latin America)
Deborah McLaren (Ecotourism)
Bill Mohan (Teen Travel)
William Nolting (International Education and Work)
Volker Poelzl (Living)
Rob Sangster (Independent Travel)
Rick Steves (Budget Travel)
Tracy Scharn and Pamela Houston (Disability Travel)
Kathy Widing (Travel Books)

Editorial Assistant
Mary Catherine Maxwell

Advertising Manager
Kate McGrail

Office Manager
Claudia Hanson

Intern
Alia Santini

Cover
Michelle McCue
A "mahout," or professional elephant handler, rides a young elephant out of the river after its bath at the Thai Elephant Conservation Center in Lampang Province, Thailand.




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