Transitions Abroad Magazine January/February 2007 Vol. XXX, NO.4

Margaret Malewski: GenXpat
The author of GenXpat talks to Jennifer Crystal about the challenges and rewards for young mobile professionals living and working abroad .

Living and Working Abroad

Living Abroad in China by Stuart & Barbara Strother
Tips for Finding a Home Abroad Volker Poelzl
A Job Fair: The Inside Story Joseph W. Keleher
Settle in Malaysia Emile Dodds
Job Hunting in Australia Lisa Pontefract
Prepare to Teach Abroad Emily M. Bosland
Consider Your Job Offer Carefully Diana Campbell
10 Tips for Managing Your TEFL Class Jann Huizenga
English Camp, Jeju Island Alice Driver
A Primer for ESL Teachers in China Andrew Norman
Teaching in China: How to Prepare, What to Expect Valerie Sartor
A Teaching Career in Japan Aaron Paulson
Teaching Opportunities in Vietnam David M. Lenard
Teaching English in Paraguay Andrea DiBenardo
Volunteer Teachers Needed in Belize Yeal Flusberg
Taking a CELTA Course in Poland Mary Ellen Monahan
English Teaching in Ukraine Bridget Goodman
Teaching EFL in Istanbul Andrew K. Burger

• Worldwide
• Africa
• Asia
• Australasia
• France
• Italy
• Latin America
• Middle East
• Spain
• UK and Ireland

From The Editor

Himalaya: Personal Stories of Grandeur, Challenge, and Hope is one of those rare books that crossed my desk and enthralled me. The stories of Sherpas, mountaineers, physicians, philanthropists, and monks stoked my interest in visiting this exalted region. More than that, they incited my desire to know more and do more to help preserve this region, which faces mounting challenges, such as loss of biodiversity, eroding cultural traditions, lack of education, poor health care, and political unrest.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama writes in Himalaya, “I hope that with increased awareness both of the treasures that exist in this part of the world and of how easily they may soon be lost, we may see more concerted efforts to restore the Himalaya as a zone of peace and to regain the natural conservation that once prevailed there for so long.”

While Himalaya is as compelling as I write in my review (page 12), what made the deepest impression on me are its stories of Tibetan refugees. Since the Chinese invasion and occupation of Tibet in 1949, Tibetans have struggled to keep their culture intact and regain their freedom. An estimated 150,000 Tibetans have risked their lives to escape Tibet, fleeing political, cultural, and religious oppression. In Himalaya Tshering Dorjee, The American Himalayan Foundation associate field director, tells the story of Taga, a 22-year-old man who joined 15 other Tibetans to escape to Nepal. Like many Tibetan refugees, Taga’s group fled in winter, traversing the most commonly used route: over the Himalayas, through the nearly 19,000-foot Nangpa mountain pass. On this crossing, Tibetans face life-threatening risks, including hypothermia, snow blindness, frostbite, and the possibility of falling.

A number who make the journey are children, as in Taga’s story, in which he refused to leave behind two young girls who could not keep up with the group.

Tragically many Tibetans, especially children, do not make it to safety; even some of those who do are arrested, interrogated, tortured, and imprisoned — or, at times, fired upon by Chinese security forces, as is reported to have happened on Sept. 30, 2006, when a Tibetan Buddhist nun was killed and the rest of her group taken into custody. At the time of press, details were still emerging from this incident, which is receiving more public attention than usual, largely due to the fact that it took place during peak climbing season when there were said to be some 40 witnesses.

The escape into exile is a daunting one, as is the Tibetan situation at large. Yet, there is hope. Many who have traveled to Tibet or met ethnic Tibetans in Bhutan, Dharamsala, and Ladakh or in Tibetan refugee communities in India or Nepal have become ardent supports for Tibet.

This issue’s cover photographer, Cedar Bough Saeji, traveled to Tibet in June 2006 with her husband Karjam Saeji, who comes from a family of Tibetan nomadic herders. Karjam left Tibet nearly a decade ago to become a traditional Tibetan singer and dancer. They returned to his hometown, Ahwencang, to make a 3-month trek across Tibet to Lhasa, following a traditional Tibetan Buddhist custom “reflecting a level of belief that ignores modern conveniences like the newly inaugurated railroad [China’s railway to Tibet],” says Cedar. “To my husband, this is a journey to teach me a deeper, truer understanding of Tibetan culture, of what it means to be Tibetan, the pure Buddhist believe that has driven thousands of feet before ours.” To read more about Cedar’s trip, see the “Trek” section of her website (www.cedarsphotography.com).

If you are interested in traveling to Tibet, Students for a Free Tibet has an informative article on ethical travel in Tibet on its website (see “About Tibet — Travel at www.students forafreetibet.org). It also has a comprehensive “action center,” as does SaveTibet.org.

— Sherry Schwarz

Transitions Abroad Magazine

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
Jennifer Crystal

Contributing Editors
Susan Griffith (Work Abroad)
William Nolting (International Education and Work)
Jean-Marc Hachey (International Careers )
Volker Poelzl (Living Abroad)
Rick Steves (Budget Travel)
Rob Sangster (Independent Travel)
Tim Leffel (The Resourceful Traveler)
Zahara Heckscher (Volunteering Abroad)
Edward Trimnell (Language Immersion)
Deborah McLaren (Responsible Travel)
Ron Mader (Ecotourism and Latin America)
Karl Haigler and Rae Nelson (Gap Year)
Cynthia Harriman (Family Travel)
Bill Mohan (Teen Travel)
J. Mara DelliPriscoli (Lifelong Learning)
Michele Scheib (Disability Travel)

On The Cover
Young nomad women from Maqu, in the Amdo region of Tibet, are visiting a monastery in their finery, including Mediterranean coral jewelry and ocelot pelts on their overcoats.  The tube scarves they wear are the height of fashion among girls in their late teens and early twenties. Photo by Cedar Bough Saeji.

Cedar Bough Saeji is currently applying for Ph.D. programs in anthropology. She has lived overseas, mostly in Korea and Tibet, for more than a decade and supports herself with an eclectic mix of editing, translating, writing, and photography. Visit her website at www.cedarsphotography.com.

Mission Statement
Transitions Abroad is the only publication dedicated to work, study, living, 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.