Sunday, February 3, 2008

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All the programs we list have been thoroughly checked out and are guaranteed to pay. We use these programs daily to make ourselves a monthly paycheck. These are all simple and easy ways to stay at home, and make a great income. Some people do it part-time for the extra $250-$500/month to pay their car payment. Others work full-time and make enough to quit their jobs! It's your choice.

No Boss, No Noisy Alarm Clocks, and Definately No Schedules!

You will make the decisions now. Earn Up to $500-$3500 Every month making a better than average income for doing what you want when you want. Nobody to tell you what to do, nothing to tell you when to wake up, and the day now becomes yours! You get to decide because you have the freedom of working for yourself. Look at yourself as a Consumer Professional!

We aren't Filthy Rich, But We Sure Enjoy What We Do !
We are ordinary people, we don't flaunt our money, dine expensively every night, we just enjoy ourselves and what we do. We have never released this information out until now, and there has been an overwhelmingly successful response from it!

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How companies Pay You To Take Surveys

Its really simple. Companies like to find out what the consumer (you) like to spend your money on, and more importantly what you like to spend your time doing. They pay millions of dollars every month in advertising budget to hire people like us to show you how to take these surveys and focus groups. Its really quite simple to understand that these companies MAKE millions just buy knowing more about you.

Somtimes they even pay for your dinner, and sometimes even pay you to get with groups of people to try products in controlled areas they invite you too! ( These are called focus groups.)

Pretty soon you might find yourself getting Paid:

$5-$100 To Drive Brand New Released Cars
Free Meals + $40 to Try out a New Restaraunt in Your Area!
$20 for filling out a short 10 minute email survey
Get Paid $100-$200 an hour for offline surveys
Get Paid $50-80 for online surveys
Over $200 an hour for focus groups!
Get Paid $90 just for previewing a Movie Trailer!
Up to $3500 a month just for driving a car around!

People Didn't Believe Us Either When We Started, Now We are Practically Retired!
Nobody believed us when we started, and we hardly believed ourselves. But the money starting pouring in, We were getting paid by MULTIPLE companies somtimes MULTIPLE times a week. We are now making a living from our homes, working a couple of hours a week. Microsoft, Coca Cola, Sears, and many more LARGE corporations are paying you and I for the extremely valuable customer information that they pay the BIG BUCKS for! We are the source between you and these very generous and high paying companies.

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Testimonies

Personally I love it! I take my son to school, come home and start taking surveys. Work for maybe an hour or two, then head off to the gym. Come home and do a few more surveys. Run out to do a few errands and pick up my son from school. Do a focus group or a few more surveys before dinner and I'm done for the day. I fit my work in whenever I can. The part I like best is I can do it for 5 minutes or a few hours .. I can fit it in whenever I have time and I'm not tied down for long periods of time and I never have to leave the house!

Of course now everyone I know does online surveys for pay too! My mom is retired and really needs the extra money. My sister is just out of college and has a great job .. but really needs a few hundred extra a month for the extras we all enjoy. My best friend just had a baby and when I told her what I was doing and how much I was making she tried it out before going back to work.

She is so happy she did .. now she stays home with her daughter and makes great money .. and she spends wonderful quality time with her child. This is such a great job I know you will just love it.
Now you can get started making great money filling out online surveys too. You will receive instant access and can be working by tomorrow! You will have access to hundreds of companies that will pay you to sit home and give your opinion!

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NOTE: There is a Limited Number of Openings. If you hurry, you can Guarantee Processing of Your New Application Through.

earnmoneyatnet.com - Instant Access

Instant Lifetime Access to our members area containing:

FREE BONUS: "Get Paid to Shop & Eat!"
FREE BONUS: "Get Paid to Drive!"
FREE BONUS: "Over 300 Additional Work at Home Opportunities!"

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Work at home India is India's first work at home company, Work at home India has pioneered the work at home concept in India. Way back in 2000 work at home India started distributing home based work to Individuals, Now work at home India features a lot more work from home jobs both online and offline home jobs then any other company, We are providing home jobs such as data conversion, data processing, email processing, ad placing, data entry, medical transcription, data entry, editing work, paid SMS, paid survey, home webmaster jobs, Free Internet business and many other home jobs. Work at home India is known for its effective customer care and efficiency in the home business field. Work at home India provides high quality work for corporate and firms in the ITES business. We accept Data-conversion, Data Entry, Internet Research. MT, LT, HTML to XML and various other kind of ITES work. We also provide search engine optimization and Online marketing service at par with the industry standards. We also provide a lot more options in the online advertising industry. We sub outsource BPO projects to individuals and bulk customers we also provide telecommuting jobs to home jobs seekers.

If you want to outsource your projects to us we can offer the Most competitive and accurate service. Contact us to outsource your projects.

New Projects in Data conversion and Data entry Updated for Home Jobs and Bulk Outsourcing.

We offer only genuine work at home opportunities, no marketing, no forced matrix, no click based, no paid emails or paid to surf programmes.

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We are introducing paid SMS service in INDIA for the first time.

For Individuals

Make money by receiving SMS from us and our affiliates. You can earn 20 paisa per sms and also on the referrals you make for receiving promotional offers and advertisements on your mobile. Now make money on the go.

Visit: www.earnmoneyatnet.com Contact at 9989485265, 9949040265

For Advertisers & Corporate Customers

Now the best form of targeted advertising is at your finger tips. we have a database of 1 Million subscribers spanning all major GSM and CDMA networks.

All our members have agreed to receive promotional offers so no chance of rejection of your message.

Members classified under various sections consisting location, Age, Sex, Marital Status and other groups. Customers sorted out under various preferences and customer taste.

Now earn maximum attention and generate advertisements into sales through our advanced system of converting advertisements into sales directly. Now interact with your customer on the go. know their preferences through our interactive feedback system.

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Booking for the work opened for a limited period.

The last lot of work has been successfully completed by a group of 200 home workers with average accuracy of 98%.

We would like to congratulate our members for successfully completing the project 2 months before the dead line. The dedication of our members has earned us reputation with our clients and they are satisfied with our accuracy and management which has led to timely completion of our project.

On this occasion we are making a bonus payment to all the members who have helped us achieve this feat.

Booking now open for new lot of work 2000 home workers needed.

Our experience in the past has proved that working with home workers is a profitable venture and has resulted in significant cost benefits to us and our clients. We have been able to provide the most accurate results at the most competitive rates by saving on floor space, assets, & overhead cost.

People having a computer at home, preferably with an internet connection with good typing speed can apply for this home based data entry job..

Join us now to get the most out of this opportunity. Click below for home based data entry work and other offline jobs.

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We are now offering Online jobs to suit the needs of every individual.

The jobs we are offering is not marketing or click based, we totally discourage forced advertising and hits based earning opportunities.

Ad placing - Earning per ad placed.

We are offering currently ad placing work.

The work involves placing of the advertisement snippets which we will provide to various directories, classified sites, blogs, forums and others sites.

We are paying on per ad placed and not like other companies who pay only if the link is clicked.

You can earn any where between 50 paise to 5 rupee for per ad placed in directories and classifieds. You have to submit your report weekly of the sites you have placed the advertisements in, after verification we will pay you according to work done by you.

Payment is made on monthly basis.

You cant use link submission softwares or sites offering mass submission service.

The work is not limited by any means.

A person with average speed can post around 50 to 70 ads or links per hour.

You can earn around 700 to 1000rs per day depending on your speed and efficiency.

You also get paid on referrals joining under you. You will be paid 500rs per member joining under you.

You will be given your own link which you have to promote. You can promote that link anywhere you want. You will get paid for posting the same link and plus you will also get paid for referrals joining through your link.

You will be able given a personal page at www.workathomeindia.com/yourname.htm . you will be able to post your personal message or if you are promoting any other home jobs opportunity then you can post the same there on your personal page. So you can promote all your jobs on the same single page plus you get paid for promoting your own page.

will get a page similar to this.

The advertisements can be of ours or any of our clients or affiliates. You cant add your personal ads or links along with ours else your payments will be with held.

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We are now offering Online jobs to suit the needs of every individual.

The jobs we are offering is not marketing or click based, we totally discourage forced advertising and hits based earning opportunities.

Ad placing - Earning per ad placed.

We are offering currently ad placing work.

The work involves placing of the advertisement snippets which we will provide to various directories, classified sites, blogs, forums and others sites.

We are paying on per ad placed and not like other companies who pay only if the link is clicked.

Payment is made on monthly basis.

You cant use link submission softwares or sites offering mass submission service.

The work is not limited by any means.

A person with average speed can post around 50 to 70 ads or links per hour.

You can earn around 700 to 1000rs per day depending on your speed and efficiency.

You also get paid on referrals joining under you. You will be paid 500rs per member joining under you.

The advertisements can be of ours or any of our clients or affiliates. You cant add your personal ads or links along with ours else your payments will be with held.

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A Complete India Travel Guide Launched

Your wait is finally over. A complete Travel Guide, www.travelgoindia.com that focuses completely on India has been launched. The days of scratching about for information on India before you embark on a tour of this beautiful country is passé. Learn more about the beauty of this enchanting land from this exhaustively informative website www.travelgoindia.com. This travel guide has quite a few useful tools that enable it to become a traveler’s best friend.

Are you ready to pack your bag but not very sure about your destination? At TravelGoIndia.com you will get to know about some tourist locations, whose existence you were never aware of. No wonder, this is by far the best India Travel Guide that you will find in the Internet. Rich in information, this exclusively India centric travel guide is surely destined to become a tourist’s best pal.

TravelGoIndia.com is conceived to provide travelers with enough information on travel so that it becomes easier for them to take decisions. The website enables you to book hotels in more than 150 Indian cities. You also have the choice to book a luxury hotel or a budget hotel. One added advantage that this complete India Travel Guide has is its ability to book hotels real time through partners and give instant confirmation facility. It has more than 500 hotels of all categories throughout India in its database. You can, therefore, be pretty sure of getting a hotel room anywhere in the country.

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Tropical Vacations Introduce You to Nature’s Glory

Tropical Vacations Introduce You to Nature’s Glory

A tropical vacation usually evokes images of images of sultry summer days lounging on the beach and soft breezes caressing you in the evenings while you sip a drink in the evenings. There are so many wonderful tropical vacation packages that give you just that in Mexico, but if you’d like to take it to the next level, consider traveling to the interior as well and experience the full spectrum of nature’s glory. Tropical also means exotic plants, gorgeous birds and chattering monkeys, mountain cliffs and amazing wildlife!

Jungle and Tropical Rainforest Vacations

Ecotourism is one of the most incredible adventures you can embark on in Mexico and other tropical areas of the world. These eco adventures give you the opportunity to see and hear things you would never be able to experience outside of a zoo or museum. In tropical regions of the world there are jungles and rain forests that shelter an amazing array of plants and animals that are colorful, unique and exotic.

Traveling with an experienced guide through the interior of a rainforest or jungle will bring you into a world where time has stood still for thousands of years. Imagine trekking along a stretch of sandy beach your first day, then heading spending the next few days in a rainforest where brilliantly plumed parrots fly overhead, calling to one another and flashing feathers of emerald, ruby and gold. The chatter of monkeys as they swing overhead will delight your group as your guide explains the delicate balance of Mexico’s ecosystem.

There are coral reefs to explore, natural springs and underwater rivers with stunning rock formations and always the crystalline waters of the Caribbean Sea.

In the evenings you’ll view glorious sunsets from atop majestic Mayan ruins or high natural ridges, all part of the protected heritage of the Mexican people. The warm breezes will sweep away the humidity of your jungle day as you relax with your small group of fellow travelers, suspended in time under a brilliant blanket of stars.

Challenge Yourself in the Tropics

If you’re up to something a bit more physical, tropical vacations offer a vast range of topographies for every activity from mountain biking to scuba diving. The mountains of the Yucatan Peninsula offer extremely challenging mountain biking trails and hiking opportunities for solo or group trekking.

Check out some of the stunning vistas you can see from various mountain locations, including views of several of the largest volcanoes in Mexico like Pico De Orizaba, Iztaccihuatl and the still active Popcateptl (which erupted spectacularly less then ten years ago, causing the evacuation of two villages). Near Mexico City you can visit the Pyramids of Teotihuacan, another spectacular example of early Mayan culture.

If you’re a fan of scuba diving, there’s nothing more exhilarating than a tropical vacation for scuba. Cancun offers a variety of packages for exceptional open water diving and cave or cavern diving. Even experienced scuba divers agree that there’s always something new to discover in the elaborate underwater caverns along the tropical beaches of the Mexican shore.

Did you know that the second largest coral reef in the world, the Great Belize Coral Reef, is in Mexico? This tropical reef system

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Best Hotels are Found Here

Best Hotels are Found Here

Need help? Need a place to stay? Try Hotelslocator.com

Whether you're on your vacation, in for a conference in the city, or just visiting, nothing beats going back to a nice hotel after the day is done. A good night's sleep and nice stay can recharge and invigorate you, getting you ready for the next day.

Standard hotels usually have basic accommodation like a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table. Washstands have been largely replaced by rooms with en-suite bathrooms. Other features found may be a TV, a telephone and an alarm clock. Food and drink may be supplied in a small refrigerator which is usually referred to as "mini-bar", containing snacks, drinks and tea and coffee making facilities like cups, spoons, an electric kettle and sachets containing instant coffee, tea bags, sugar, and creamer or milk. Aside from these, food and drinks may also be ordered through room service, some hotels even offer specialty cuisine which they are famous for.

However, in Japan the capsule hotel supplies minimal facilities and room space. The cost and quality of hotels are usually indicative of the range and type of services available. Due to the enormous increase in tourism worldwide during the last decades of the 20th century, standards, especially those of smaller establishments, have improved considerably. For the sake of greater comparability, rating systems have been introduced, with the one to five stars classification being most common.

But sometimes hotel availability can be a problem. This is where a hotel directory comes in handy. A hotel directory, either on the Internet or in a magazine type publication, is a list of all hotels/motels/places of lodging in a certain area. Typically it also includes reviews

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Experiencing Natural Wonders with Ecotourism

Ecotourism

Coined by Héctor Ceballos-Lascuràin in 1983 the term Ecotourism was used to describe nature centric travel to relatively undisturbed areas with an emphasis on education. Today ecotourism consists of cultural tourism, nature tourism, leisure tourism and a good dose of adventure. Sound ecotourism involves travel to natural destinations, minimizes impact, builds environmental awareness, provides direct financial benefits for conservation, provides financial benefits and empowerment for local people, respects local culture, and supports human rights and not exploitation. It is an enlightening, participatory travel experience to environments, both natural and cultural which produces viable economic opportunities for the tourism industry and host communities, and makes the use of these resources through conservation beneficial to all tourism role players.

Global Ecotourism

According to the World Tourism Organisation Ecotourism is the fastest growing market within the ever expanding global tourism industry. Eco-travel is a serious player within the global tourism market and is fast becoming the preferred option in vacationing. We are a society trademarked by a heightened environmental consciousness not known in past eras. This combined with easy accessibility to exotic locations is what has drawn so many to eco-travel. Countries have begun to promote their natural resources, unique locals and tourism facilities in a bid to capture the interest of intrepid eco-travellers. Businesses are constructing camps and lodges and trails and tours are being designed to facilitate the wants and needs of the eco-tourists.

Ecotourism in Africa

Africa is synonymous with the concept of ecotourism, its multitude of game parks and reserves conserve some of the world's most magnificent creatures. The bird life throughout the continent is remarkable, natural wonders are scattered throughout the continent and the cultures and traditions of past eras mystically intertwine with modern day. Each country on this diverse continent offers its own unique appeal to eco-travellers and no eco-traveller would be complete without a trip to Africa.

A Jewel at the Tip of Africa

When the path of tourism began to diverge to ecotourism; nature, heritage and recreational destinations became more important than before and South Africa is a haven for these three cornerstones of eco-tourism. Lying at the very tip of Africa, South Africa is home to some of the most magnificent vistas, sunsets and natural resources one could hope to encounter. It is near impossible to separate SA from a nature experience and the strongest

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amaica's underwater wonders

Over the years many songwriters have referred to the beauty of this green pearl in the string of Caribbean islands, and today it is known throughout the world for its lush vegetation, reggae music, rum and coffee. One of the most overlooked attractions is, however, that part of the island that lies below the surface of the ocean that surrounds it. Divers typically do not think of Jamaica as a prime diving destination, except for those who have explored its reefs and have found it to be the best destination of all. Where else can you do a breathtaking wall dive in the morning, enjoy the sea life on a shallow reef at noon, and have plenty of time left in the afternoon to go river rafting, horseback riding, play golf, visit a great house or indulge in any manner of activities. Jamaica as one of the largest islands in the Caribbean has many excellent diving and snorkeling sites: shallow and deep, reefs and walls, wrecks and caverns, home to all manner of sea life: spectacular coral, exotic sponges, spiny lobsters, moray eels, sea turtles and multitudes of colorful fish, big and small. Below we have selected by region some of the unique diving opportunities available to you based on your level of experience. All dives offered by commercial operators in Jamaica are guided dives. The dive guides must have, according to regulations, at least a dive master certificate from an internationally recognized association and be licensed by the Jamaica Tourist Board. Although this limits your freedom to dive wherever you like, this regulation increases the safety and fun of diving in an unfamiliar area. The dive classifications employed below were assigned based on the following principles: Novice divers: Persons who are recently certified, or who have done only a limited number of dives with considerable gaps in between; this could include divers with as many as 20 dives. Dives in this category will tend to be less than 60 ft (18 m) or will not require advanced diving skills. Intermediate divers: Persons who have been diving on a regular basis but lack further training beyond certification, also those with advanced training who have not been diving for the past several months. The environment of this category of dive necessitates greater experience. Advanced divers: Persons with training beyond the open water diver certification that have been diving regularly in the last several months. This requirement will apply to most sites deeper than 80 ft (24 m) because those dives require a mastery of buoyancy and a thorough knowledge of the dive tables. These dives may also be accessible to the less experienced diver after a couple of refresher dives.

MONTEGO BAY Rose Hall Reef Depth: 20-45 ft (7-14 m) Class: Novice Named for the famous great house that overlooks the sea just a couple of miles east of Montego Bay, this shallow reef is teaming with marine life. At this location you'll discover "Fairy Castle", a massive colony of pillar coral, and "Fairy Bridge", a coral formation that connects two sections of reef over a sandy "river". The reef forms an intricate system of tunnels that are home to squirrelfish, goatfish, porcupinefish, bar jacks and grunts.

The Spanish Anchor Depth: 50-90 ft (15-28 m) Class: Intermediate Located on the west side of the marine park, the shallow reef drops to a sandy bottom at 50 ft. The site derives its name from the large anchor, undated but of Spanish origin, that rests on the sandy bottom. Within the reef wall one can explore tunnels and caverns with abundant sponge colonies. Sightings of eagle rays are quite common here, and in the deeper water large mutton snappers- and sometimes a docile nurse sharkmay pass by.

Widowmaker's Cave Depth: 40-80 ft (12-24 m) Class: Advanced A deep dive along a wall with a vertical, narrow crack which forms the entrance to Widowmaker's Cave. Inside the tunnel leading to the cave, there is wire coral with, in the beam of your dive light, red polyps, and the walls are covered with multicolored sponges. On this dive you'll likely encounter schools of silvery blue bogas, glassy sweepers, schoolmaster snappers, balloonfish, trumpetfish, hamlets, wrasses and parrotfish.

NEGRIL The Throne Room Depth: 40-70 ft (12-21 m) Class: Novice The entrance to the Throne Room, a fairly wide but low cavern, is a crack in the reef about 25 feet long and 8 feet wide. The walls on the inside are covered with colorful sponges and on the bottom near to the exit you can see a large orange elephant ear sponge for which the site is named. Ceros, cruising along over the sandy bottom, are a common sight, as are small groups of yellow tail snapper.

The Caves Depth: 40-70 ft (12-21 m) Class: Intermediate This site is named for the two caverns, one small and one slightly larger, with a narrow tunnel connecting the two. You can find a variety of sponges here along with soft gorgonians. On the sand flat you will see the usual occupants: furry sea cucumbers, stingrays, jacks and some lane snappers.

Kingfish Point Depth: 80-90 ft (24-27 m) Class: Advanced Among the elephant ear sponges and yellow tube sponges, you may

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Equitours: Worldwide Horseback Riding Adventures Change World Perceptions of the American Traveler

If you’re weighing the pleasures of tourism against the discomfort of going abroad at a time when our country seems widely abhorred, you might want to consider savoring a new way of traveling: on horseback

If you’re weighing the pleasures of tourism against the discomfort of going abroad at a time when our country and culture seem widely abhorred, you might want to consider savoring a new way of making an entrance into that picturesque Provence village. Leave the trains, cars and tour buses to others. What really elicits a warm welcome from locals abroad is arriving in town on horseback.

“Anywhere in the world – Iceland, Tierra del Fuego; France, India – local people greet riders in an overwhelmingly open and friendly way; there’s an instant rapport,” says Bayard Fox, the founder of Equitours, the oldest and largest riding vacation company in the United States. “Horses aren’t just a great passport to some of the most beautiful spots in the world, they are a passport to the hearts of people everywhere.”

Fox, who, with his wife, Mel, has spent the better part of twenty-five years taking Americans to every part of the globe on equestrian vacations, is no stranger to chilly foreign relations. A former CIA operative from the Cold War era, he’s spent years living in Paris, riding with nomadic tribes in Iran, and posing as a big game hunter in Central Africa, all to gather information for the U.S. during the 50s and 60s. His knowledge of foreign cultures is enormous; and his experience has been invaluable in carefully choosing the world’s best riding tours in places that highlight natural beauty,

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Life is an Adventure, Live It

Costa Rica is Central America's jewel. It's an oasis and an Ecotourism heaven, making it one of the best places to experience the tropics with minimal impact. It's also mostly coastline, which means great surfing, activities and beaches galore with a climate built for laziness.

Deep Sea Fishing Would you like to hook a sailfish on a fly, catch and release a marlin, fight a giant tuna, reel in dolphin fish, take a swim with a porpoise, and catch a few snappers to take back for your dinner? The North Pacific Coast of Costa Rica is a World-Class sport fishing paradise. More than 40 world records have been registered within an 80-mile radius. Sailfish, black marlin, blue marlin, striped marlin (sails and marlin are catch and release), yellow fin tuna and Wahoo are found in abundance. Inshore species include large concentrations of roosterfish and snapper. Billfish are the favored target of most visiting anglers. There are many charter boats on the west coast of Costa Rica. They can accommodate an individual, a couple, a family or a group of any size.

Canopy Tours Swing like a monkey thru the trees on a zip line canopy tour. Guides are professionals in the area of Canopying and most have years of previous experience. The canopy tour offers any adventurous tourist the opportunity to ascend into the forest canopy and see jungle life from a perspective available previously to only a select few researchers and photographers. This is an Adventure for all ages that should not be missed.

Sailing Experience a day of sailing and exploring the impressive Costa Rican coast. While sailing you could encounter dolphins, whales, turtles, manta rays and bat rays. Anchored in a bay you can snorkel coral and rock formations, swim, or simply enjoy the secluded beaches. The best way of relaxing on your vacation is to enjoy a beautiful Guanacaste Sunset Cruise. Sit-back and watch the colorful sunset, while sipping a cold beer, rum punch or soft drinks and enjoying the light snacks.

Volcano's, Hot Springs, Mud Baths and Waterfalls Arenal volcano is well known for its exploding lava shows. Shop at the road side gallery's and gift shops. Visit the rain forest. Lake Arenal, a beautiful 22-mile long lake is great for freshwater fishing. It's home to the hard-hitting rainbow bass, or quapote: five to six pounders are common. Take your swimsuits to bathe in the pools of naturally warm thermal waters amid tropical gardens at Arenal Volcano National Park. For the sports enthusiast you can windsurf one of the premier windsurfing destinations in the world. Due to the area's irregular topography the wind is constant, providing excellent windsurfing conditions, especially in the dry season between December and April.

Buena Vista Hot Springs Canopy tour, hot springs, horses, water slide, waterfall and mud bath. The thermal waters, steam bath, and natural spa are located at the foot of Volcano, Rincon de la Vieja. At the hot springs, you will relax unconditionally as you enjoy pleasurable and rejuvenating treatments with volcanic mud and warm spring waters. This "spoil me" atmosphere makes it easy to forget the hustle and bustle of modern life. By

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Ngorongoro Crater

Maybe it was Mark Twain who said there are lies, dammed lies and statistics. This seems to be the case concerning statistics for Ngorongoro crater. As I checked my figures for accuracy for this article I could find no two sources that agree. So I will endeavor to keep statistics to a minimum.

This aside Ngorongoro Crater is a true marvel and I believe unique in Africa; it is located between the lake Manyara National Park and the Serengeti. It was formed from an ancient volcano that erupted and then collapsed into the craters we see today. This is called a caldera and Ngorongoro Crater is the world's largest [unbroken] caldera. It is thought that this volcano, before it erupted and collapsed, stood taller than its close neighbor Mt Kilimanjaro.

The crater floor is spread across one hundred square mile and is home to many thousands of animals. Ngorongoro Crater enjoys a year round water supply and so nearly all animals remain here as permanent residents. It has the densest population of game in the whole of Africa; and it is possible to see the big five in one day. It is often referred to as a mini Serengeti as it shares many of the habitats of this huge neighbor. Although rich with game the crater has no giraffe, impala or topi. There are only a small number of tall acacia trees, this lack of grazing can explain the absence of the giraffe but the absences of impala and topi is a mystery; especially as they are present in large numbers in the nearby Serengeti.

There are five habitats on the crater floor, which as mentioned have echoes of the habitats of the Serengeti. In the south west is the Lerai Forest which gets its name from the tall yellow barked acacia. This Forrest is home to baboons and vervet monkeys. There is also a small population of giant tusker bull elephants. These elephants are the biggest you will see in Tanzania. There are no breading herds of elephants here; in fact there are no female elephants in the crater. If you are lucky you may also catch a glimpse of the shy leopard lying along the branches of the acacia trees in this forest.

The best time to visit this forest is early in the morning. We recommend a 6h30 start, if you are up to it, to be amongst the first into the crater. The animals are at their most active in a morning and an early start will be well rewarded. The Ngorongoro

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Find Serious Romance at Oregon B&B

On Oregon's northern coast, the tiny town of Wheeler sits at the edge of a pristine bay that cloisters all sorts of wonders, which stay even more secret because they often get passed over by the major tourist publications. A mere few blocks long, if you blink you may miss this diminutive gem, where antique shops seem to be the number one industry (there are four such shops, yet only two lodgings and two restaurants). All of this looks out over the Nehalem Bay, where mysterious Neahkahnie Mountain hovers in the distance, looming over the immaculate beaches of Manzanita, some four miles away.

Another spot from which to get a stunning view of the bay sits at the center point of Wheeler: the Old Wheeler Hotel. At the corner of Highway 101 and what is called "Artisans Row," Old Wheeler has five cozy and luxurious rooms, all of which have windows to the always-unforgettable bay.

Beauty and romance resonates and oozes from this place, with soothing, Tuscan-inspired color schemes, hardwood floors and a classical décor that's warm, inviting and imparts luxury.

The best of modern conveniences - and a few surprises - await you. The common room serves up breakfast in the morning, and comes with a microwave and high-speed Internet access. Walk down chandeliered and candlelit hallways to the "piano lobby," decked out in a lush, warm pepper-red, stuffed with oversized comfy couches and containing a nifty hammock-like seat. There's also a vintage Wurlitzer piano.

Each room has a vibrant charm to it that's the result of a myriad of nice little details - from the bedspreads and the art on the walls, to the light fixtures and the stuffed animal you may find on your bed. Some rooms have a Jacuzzi and some have a claw foot bathtub.

There's also a masseuse in residence.

On top it all, enjoy free popcorn and movies - thanks to owner Winston Laszlo's history with the film industry. His father was a screenwriter in Los Angeles, so Winston grew up with the world of movies

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Staying healthy while traveling

Your good health is paramount while traveling and taking simple precautions can drastically reduce your chances of falling ill.

Health Insurance
An insurance package that covers your health, possessions and cancellations is imperative.

Immunizations
Immunizations are critical – especially if you are planning to visit 3rd world countries. Many immunizations require a specific time period to take effect or require certain follow-up shots – so plan well ahead. You should record any immunization shots received on an official health certificate as this is often a requirement of visa applications.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention can advise you on the current recommendations for your intended destination.

General
Food and water are one of the leading causes of illness for travelers. These simple tips can drastically reduce your chances of illness:

- If the water is suspect, don’t take the risk. This includes ice, food washed and prepared in the water and swimming pools. Buy bottled water or boil/sterilize existing water.

- Only consume fruit and vegetables that can be pealed or are protected by an outer skin (bananas, oranges, pineapple etc)

- Wash you hands thoroughly before all meals.

- When purchasing meat and seafood, look for प्रोपेर

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When should you talk to your preteen about sex? Most experts would agree, there's no time like the present.

Talking to our youngsters about the birds and the bees is one thing when they're preschoolers, it's quite another when they're preteens. Chances are that at this age you'll get a lot of squirming and looks of disgust when discussing sexual health. But those reactions of embarrassment are pretty normal with preteens, says sexual health educator Kim Marsden. "When they're in the pre-pubescent age, they go into the gross-me-outter stage. Painful for parents, but it's a really important time to persevere and keep talking to them about their bodies."

However kids aren't the only ones who squirm. Many parents find sexual health difficult to discuss and find themselves continually postponing a frank discussion with their child. If this is the case with you, the best bet is to pick up a book, do some reading and then stop procrastinating.

Now is the time to sit down and talk with your child because according to Meg Hickley, author of "Speaking of Sex", "children in grades 4 to 7 have the greatest needs for information and this is the most crucial time to talk. They've been exposed to television and school yard gossip about sexuality and this is your last chance to talk. They need to know about breast development, for boys as well as for girls, that some children gain weight during puberty and it's totally unfair to tease someone about being skinny or fat, and they need to know about body hair and daily washing."

Marsden acknowledges that when it comes to discussing sexual health with children "it's difficult to get the conversation going because they're so embarrassed. So lock them in the car, take a long drive, get talking and keep talking. Then ask them to return the information and see how much they've actually picked up."

And when you've finally had the big talk, pat yourself on the back. According to Hickley the open communication you've created around sexual health will pay off for many, many years. "If you've talked to your kids from preschool through to primary years, I can promise you are going to have a teenager who is filled with joy and optimism about their future adult sexual lives, and who is extremely easy to talk to."

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Social Skill Repair: Creative Methods To Build Students' Peer Skills

Peer interaction problems can make any school or agency site chaotic, loud, unpleasant or unsafe. There are no quick fixes to instantly turnaround all your peer problems, but here are some fun ways to begin the process.

The more you can use creative, unexpected and humorous methods, the more success you may achieve repairing poor peer skills. Rely on methods that catch your resistant, oppositional, depressed, withdrawn and defiant youth off-guard and powerfully engage them in learning despite themselves. The interventions below offer those benefits.

** Who You Gonna Call? Gropes Busters! Here's a fun multiple choice quiz that teaches while your students are laughing. Permission is granted to you to print out the quiz for use with students.

The Gropes-Busters Quiz

1. When standing near other kids, it is very important to stand: a) Nose to nose b) On their toes c) About one arm length away

2. When other students say "No," it really means: a) "Yes" with an attitude b) The "n" and "o" are silent c) Stop!

3. When touching others, a guideline to follow is: a) Grope first, ask second b) Ask first, grope second c) Ask first and comply with the answer

4. When watching pro sports like football and hockey, it is important to remember that a) Slapping people's backsides is a universal greeting b) Violent contact is welcomed everywhere c) No one should ever behave as badly as misbehaved pro athletes

5. When touching others, it is always best to a) Never touch anything labeled "radioactive" b) Never touch anything you can't reach c) Never touch until receiving permission first

**BONUS INTERVENTION
To generate a dialogue about interacting with peers who are ethnically, culturally, or otherwise different, use this group experience exercise: Divide students into two groups. Each group will be given the task of either buying or selling items. Privately provide separate instructions to each group on how they may behave, and have these instructions conflict. For example, one group may talk only to blondes; the other group may not permit blondes to talk to others from outside the group. The resulting conflict will mirror real-life clashes and can be followed by a discussion on identifying, understanding and managing cultural, ethnic and interpersonal differences.

**BONUS INTERVENTION
"Problem hands" can be a big problem. It is important to teach youngsters who are being victimized, how to avoid additional problems. But, in addition, remember to teach the victimized kids that they are not to blame. Victims sometimes don't report problem touching by peers for reasons that relate to self-blame. Teach these youngsters that they were not to blame regardless of their dress, demeanor, reputation or personal history. Self-blame issues can be especially important for girls and young women.

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Online education and the challenge of motivation

Getting an online education is both a very thrilling proposition and a challenging one as well. It is quite exciting to learn through a very new and non-traditional form of education and it offers a set of new challenges that would compel individuals to really immerse themselves in what they are doing.

Unfortunately, even with an educational format as new as online education, the same old problems that plague students would usually crop up. The most common difficulty a student encounters is losing the motivation to continue studying. This feeling is further exacerbated by the unique environment that a student must contend with in an online education course. Being alone with no real classmates to act as real-time sounding boards and given the free rein to handle your time it becomes a challenge to really get into the groove of studying. Since online education classes are a new education format, it also does not possess many of the known support systems that we can find inside a traditional school structure. These support systems are what helps keep students motivated. The lack of social interaction can also be a significant contributing factor for online education students easily losing the motivation to study.

Losing motivation is quite difficult because it could become difficult to stay focused on what needs to be done. Losing the impetus to study will make it very difficult to prepare for exams or tests, complete assignments and finish projects. Motivation is what drives a person to study through the boredom, the tedium and the difficulties. Without motivation, the whole purpose of taking online education classes loses meaning. It would be just so easy to quit and stop taking the classes at the risk of losing the tuition paid for the online classes.

For those who may be worried that they may lose their motivation, the good news is that it can be restored or reinforced. Below are some tips given by many education experts as a way of keeping motivated.

* One way to stay motivated is to identify a goal and work towards its attainment. Try to focus on small goals that can be easily fulfilled. You can mark off a calendar with daily and weekly goals that you are required to accomplish. As you fulfill each goal cross it out with a pen. This process helps you build up your pride in your accomplishments.

* Try to talk to other people about what you are learning in your online classes. This process is usually done with your classmates in a traditional school system but because of the nature of online education, you really do not have classmates in the traditional sense. What you can do is talk to family members and friends about what you have learned in your online classes. One other thing you can do is to try to arrange a chat with your instructor so that you can have some time to discuss the subjects and/or curriculum with him.

* Try to be active in forums related to your course or classes. Even though there are no real physical ways of meeting fellow students in an online course most educational institutions that offer online education provide chatrooms or forums where you can chat with other people taking the same courses. These chatrooms or forums provide ample opportunity for different kinds of interactions with fellow students. You can use it to get to know other students personally and if you find one that lives near you, then you can probably arrange to meet with them regularly to discuss your subjects. You can set up online study groups that other students who taking the same course can use.

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Adult Learning Disabilities

You have to deal with a number of issues if you have a learning disability, even if that disability was diagnosed in the childhood. The issues will be different and many more in adulthood than they were in your childhood years. Hence you will have to find new ways to cope with these challenges and issues posed by the learning disability.

Most children plan on marrying, having children, and being a productive member of their society. If you have a learning disability, you will have to incorporate it into your life-plan. You will need to learn ways of handling the milestones in your life and still deal with your disability. You can lead a successful life with a little by taking some small steps.

Learning disabilities come in many forms, but usually affect how a person thinks, talks, hears, reads and writes. These problems impact how you process thoughts and perform tasks such as mathematics. Since we use these skills everyday, you will have to find ways of coping with daily tasks.

It can be extremely difficult to be an adult with a learning disability. Other adults expect you to have the same skill sets that they do and may become angry and frustrated when they have to repeatedly explain something to you. They don't realize that you need extra time to make sense of certain things. You may even drop out of classes you're taking because others don't understand your needs. Doing this will most likely jeopardize your career plans.

You need to find the balance between having a disability and changing your goals. You do need to know your limitations but at the same time there is no reason for you not to live a full and happy life. You should be able to enjoy relationships and being a parent, even with your learning disability.

Being a parent with learning disability can be tough and stressing. To reduce the stress of being a disability parent, you can do a number of things like take care of your time and manage it properly.

One of the many tricks that you can implement so that you don't forget important family information is to have a calendar prominently displayed in the kitchen or other room in your home. Keep track of dates and times when you and your children need to be somewhere. This way you have a constant visual reminder to refer to so that you don't miss appointments and pick up times.

Keep your home as organized as possible so that when you need to find something it will be in a permanent location inside your home. This ensures that you don't spend unnecessary time searching for something that you need since this can often lead to your frustration and anger.

Remember that it is very important to remain calm and patient even when things are not going the way you may want them to. Everyone, even those who don't have a learning disability will have moments that are frustrating and trying. Do not blame everything that goes wrong on your learning disability.

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"When Reading is Stupid; the Why, How and What to Do About It"

As we are about to embark on a teaching career we as English teachers need to be aware that our students will not always share the same enthusiasm and passion we have for reading. Jeffrey Wilhelm's article "When Reading is Stupid; the Why, How and What to Do About It" is therefore of particular relevance as it discusses the issue of how teachers can motivate their students to read more.

Wilhelm conducted research surrounding various students and adults' reading experiences, both meaningful and frustrating. After interviewing over five hundred participants Wilhelm confirmed that relevance, competence and agency were the key factors that entice people, especially students, to read. Using these key factors, he devised the notion of "contact zones".

Reading need not be seen merely as homework or a set task, yet so often teachers present reading material in such a way. "Read pages 40 - 70 before next Tuesday" or "Write ten lines describing the themes explored in this novel".

According to the Chief Review Officer for ERO certain students, in particular Pacific Islanders, Maori and another group referred to as 'the tail' are currently unsuccessful within the educational system. They say that the percentage could be as high as 25% . Many leave school without a formal qualification and usually this also means that a number of them will be fairly illiterate. From the time they leave school, these students therefore have a disadvantage in the world as they do not have access to the vast amount of knowledge that can be found within literature. Their knowledge of the world will be limited to their own life experiences and cultural boundaries. Whether these experiences are positive or negative will influence a student's opinion about what they have to read. If the material does not fit their own experiences or culture, they will probably fail to understand the relevance or point of being 'forced' to read it.

According to Wilhelm the key to encouraging the students, in particular those that are having difficulties with reading, is therefore about making connections. Their life experience and culture should be the very foundation from which teachers should be choosing material to read. Wilhelm states that reading should be seen as a choice that is 'personally relevant and socially significant'. Students should therefore, under close guidance, with a clear purpose and carefully explained procedures, be given increased responsibility in what and how they read in order to develop an understanding of themselves and the world outside of their own life and cultural experiences.

Wilhelm suggests that teachers should use the technique of 'contact zones'. This is where each student feels connected to learning the material in some way. They need to be able to see the relevance of committing their own precious time on something they do not necessarily deem important. With the increasing competition of computer games, films, DVDs, music and so much more, ensuring that texts are 'relevant' becomes more important than ever before. As there is so much information and choice available to our students we need to be able to recreate the same amount of choice and connection for them within the classroom, especially when it comes to the context of getting them to read! Reading has to be as exciting as the next episode of the Simpsons or Missy Elliot video or as action charged as winning the first fifteen game.

Over my two-week observation period on placement I noticed the concept of contact zones being put into practice. My year 9 English class had just completed reading the Duncan Stuart's novel Whole of the Moon. The female and male characters in the book are about the same age as the students in the class.

"He's smart, good-looking, rich - he's just won the speed-skating champs and has a terrific girlfriend. Kirk Mead has it all...including cancer. Now he has to tough it out in the biggest battle of his life."

Although The Whole of the Moon is about fictional characters the students were encouraged to close read the novel in such a way as to imagine that they themselves could be one of the Kirk Meads of the world. It turned out that one of the students had actually battled two years of chemotherapy himself. The student was very open about the experience and his perspective on Kirk's story in relation to his own made reading could possibly have made the text more relevant and socially significant for the rest of the class. Discussing common elements about the characters in relation to themselves, such as a love for skateboarding, helped them to connect to the story in a way that recognized its parallels within their own world. An after reading activity encouraged the students to find their own quote from the book which they thought conveyed a theme and were then asked to do a static image. Although this was not linking the story to direct personal experience the students were able to convey visually their own interpretation of the characters of the story. Following that the students were then asked to do a speech as if they were one of the characters that had lost their leg. Becoming the character like this encouraged the students to step outside of their comfort zone and be disabled for a moment. They were able to describe how they felt both physically and psychologically. The students themselves brought up discussions about how the school was equipped for wheelchairs and extra-curricular activities for the disabled.

In comparison my year 13 class had been studying short stories in a way that resonated from my bursary days. They were the same stories and the same themes regurgitated - bullying, relationships, death and so forth. Although wonderful stories, of which I had great pleasure in studying I wonder just how the students see any relevance of the stories other than to learn the quotes and write the essay. In comparison to the Year 9 novel study the short stories required much more in-depth analysis and discussion with little time to find personal connections. Perhaps it may have been useful for the students themselves to vote on their own themes at the beginning of the year and then the teacher to ensure that material studied, including the short stories, incorporated those themes? Short stories written by fellow secondary school students such as 'Surrender' by Maria Belich could possibly be good to use as it may reflect their own personalities and encourages them to see attitudes from a different perspective.

So when faced with the importance of relevance, competence and agency we would need to address the following questions before implementing Wilhelm's 'contact zones' . Firstly we would need to take into the account the nature and personalities of the classroom. What issues interest them? What are their favorite hobbies? Sports? Crafts? Once these have been identified then areas of literature that has relevance can be investigated. Inquiry also need not be fake. A teacher should not be hesitant of leaving it up to the students to find out the answers for themselves. Once students are using their own knowledge to make useful and intelligent connections, they will feel a sense of accomplishment. This sense of achievement and call to action will then lead to increased self esteem and competency in reading. Through making texts accessible to students in a way that is relevant students will understand that knowledge is created and that in all things in life, a position must be taken.

Time is precious in a teenager's world, as it is in ours. Potential topics worth exploring would then need to be around things that would be topical for them. Perhaps for the boys it may be cars, music or girls. Maybe they have a favourite actor or actress? A favourite sport or sportsperson? For the girls it may be fashion and boys. If I look back my interests were probably in the narrow realms of boys, music, theatre and photography. Maybe we could look at the impact of technology or media on our lives utilizing materials such as video games, films, mp3 players which could then be connected to relevant texts or literature. Topics that could be interesting in exploring could be about artificial intelligence or genetically modified foods. In fact one book that has been recommended to me is Daniel Keye's novel 'Flowers for Algernon', about a mentally retarded boy who is used for an experiment where he and a mouse become mentally superior. The book has an opportunity to tackle all sorts of everyday issues such as bullying, the ethics scientific research or the lengths people go to for popularity. The overall theme could be 'acceptance'. By using varying texts such as newspapers, magazines, World Wide Web, radio interviews, video clips and so forth we can explore these issues in depth in relation to how it could affect the students. E.g. the ear grown on the mouse, girls in Asia lengthening their legs or operating on their eyes to become 'more western', recent infant killing milk powder in china. If the literature they read is linked to things that could have potential consequences within their own lives, then the reading will become that much more interesting for them. Another interesting topic could be that of the body beautiful. How women and men are portrayed in the media and within certain literature. Further opportunities could exist to explore eating fads historically and to date, such as the Aitkens diet. The everyday realities can be drawn into classroom teaching and the literature that we expose them to should have similar themes or connections to these realities.

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Prostitution, AIDS, Social Evils, Ho Chi Minh City

Vietnam appears to be on the edge of a devastating AIDS epidemic. The official figure for the number of HIV-positive people, 3,706 (with 148 deaths since the first case was recorded in 1990), is almost certainly underestimated by several orders of magnitude. Aid workers from non-governmental organizations say that estimates by the World Health Organization of 100,000 HIV-positive people in Vietnam are much closer to reality. More ominous are WHO reports that estimate 500,000 people in Vietnam will be HIV positive by 1998 unless massive education efforts slow the epidemic.
Vietnam still has time to prevent becoming another Thailand, with its one million HIV-positive citizens. Vietnam's only hope is through decisive and aggressive action: it must not only educate prostitutes and drug users--traditional sources for AIDS infection-- but must also create massive, active education and outreach programs directed at the mainstream population. The Vietnamese government has decided to fight the epidemic through an extensive if passive AIDS prevention campaign using television and billboards that explain HIV transmission, and by urging morality and monogamy.
The government is also setting up small programs for high-risk groups using the "harm-reduction" model of AIDS education, a hands-on method that uses outreach workers. Harm-reduction education teaches sex workers to use condoms and to avoid high-risk sexual activity. Intravenous drug users are also taught to use clean hypodermic needles and not to share injection paraphernalia with other users. Government AIDS policy also focuses on educating government employees like police officers and medical workers about HIV transmission. There is some education in the schools, but it is only on HIV and AIDS transmission; no sex education courses exist. Moreover, there are no special hospitals for AIDS patients. In the destitute Vietnamese medical system, where a patient's family must go to the black market to buy medicine, the AIDS drug AZT is given only to pregnant women.
In Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), the government and Save the Children both run similar programs using peer outreach workers, employing former sex workers to teach safe sex to prostitutes, and using former intravenous drug users to educate present drug users on how to avoid AIDS. Although the programs have the same goal--to stop the spread of HIV and AIDS--the way that they are run says a lot about the attitudes toward the sex workers and drug users whom they attempt to help.
The Vietnamese government has set up pilot syringe-exchange programs in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Save the Children has created pilot AIDS education and outreach programs with the hope that locally supported versions will eventually be run in other provinces in Vietnam. The government is now hopeful that more nongovernmental organizations will come into Vietnam to set up more projects.
Ho Chi Minh City is the epicenter of Vietnam's AIDS epidemic, with half the reported HIV cases coming from the city. Police figures estimate 33,000 prostitutes and 150 brothels there, though these figures are at least three years old. An estimated 10,000 IV drug users and 30,000 children live alone or with their families in the streets. In the past five years, more than a million people have come to Ho Chi Minh City to try to escape the crippling poverty of the countryside. Some women from the provinces inevitably wind up working as prostitutes.
Dr. Thue Vinh is a member of the District One AIDS Committee in Ho Chi Minh City. "When we first set the program up, in 1993, we had some resistance from the police officials. They did not understand why we gave condoms to sex workers; they said we were helping them to be prostitutes," Vinh explained. Attitudes are better, according to Vinh, because of the massive government AIDS education campaign. Among the general population, the knowledge about HIV transmission is high.
But the government campaign has some big holes. "We have classes in the schools on how HIV is transmitted," said Vinh, "but no sex education programs." Efforts to reach prostitutes who work in hotels are hampered by the hotels' refusal to accept free government condoms. Accepting the free condoms, the hotel managers reason, is the equivalent of pleading guilty to charges of promoting prostitution. They fear the police will shut them down.
Last February the AIDS committee also restarted their needle exchange, shut down two years ago because of conflicts with the police. The exchange has 87 clients out of the 500 users in the district. Estimates for IV drug users are bleak--the HIV infection rate may be as high as 80 percent. According to Aaron Peak, an American AIDS policy consultant in Vietnam, the addicts of Ho Chi Minh City frequent "shooting galleries," where they buy the opium they shoot and where one person injects all the clients, often with the same needle.
The District One Women's Union runs the government's peer outreach program to sex workers. At a recent meeting, eight former sex workers were gathered around a long table. The meeting was led by Hoa Hong, a Women's Union official who has never worked as a prostitute, and the mood was very serious. Hong asked each woman to make a report. Several women said the new law against social evils, known as Local Law 87, has forced prostitutes off the street because it is easier for the police to arrest them for vagrancy. Many of the sex workers now work inside, and some have resorted to having an accomplice drive them around on a scooter, allowing for quicker propositions with less danger of being arrested. Local Law 87, which cracks down on gambling, prostitution, and drug use, was passed last winter to appease Communist Party hard-liners in preparation for June's Party conference. It has put a damper on safe-sex education and condom distribution.
At Save the Children, the atmosphere was much more relaxed. The offices were in a large house and the sex workers' meeting was held on the floor, with the half-dozen women volunteers, all present and former sex workers, sitting and discussing their work while exchanging lively banter.
Truong is a former sex worker and staff member. Although more than 100,000 Saigon bar girls and prostitutes were sent to communist "reeducation" camps in 1975, that's when Truong's career as a sex worker started. Her father, who had worked with Americans in Vietnam, was sent to a reeducation camp where he spent 11 years. To support her mother and brother, Truong sold her virginity at the age of 21 and spent 16 years as a prostitute. She stopped after she was recruited to do outreach for Save The Children four years ago.
"I'd say about 70 percent of the commercial sex workers start because of poverty," Truong said. "Most come from the provinces and are very poor; they have a low education level and no stable job. The Women's Union hates commercial sex workers. They don't try to determine the reasons why women sell themselves. They just say it is a social evil without knowing the reasons why."
Harm-reduction education has to be done without moral judgment, to actively address the needs of high-risk groups while appealing to their ability to take care of themselves. This flies in the face of abstinence models of HIV-prevention: don't have sex until you are married, don't have sex outside of marriage, don't do drugs ever.
Harm reduction is still controversial in the United States because it involves teaching members of groups at high risk for HIV infection how to protect themselves from AIDS, and to prevent those who are already infected from spreading the disease. Giving out needles and condoms acknowledges that drug addicts and prostitutes exist and are a part of society in Vietnam (as well as in just about every country); they cannot be simply disposed of by arresting them and sending them off to prison or reeducation camps.
Most AIDS education outreach efforts in Ho Chi Minh City are directed at high-risk populations. Besides drug users and sex workers, Save the Children also has projects doing HIV-prevention work with street children and gay men. In Vietnam, homosexuality is illegal.
Vietnam should be aware that the country has already entered a crisis. To slow the spread of HIV, the Vietnamese government should not merely wait for increased spending on the part of nongovernment organizations; it should itself increase spending on HIV prevention. For example, with new joint ventures between the government and foreign corporations being formed every week, the government could impose a small corporate tax to pay for increased AIDS spending.
The Save the Children program is small, with a staff of just 24 in addition to its 50 outreach workers, but it is vital. By approaching the sex workers with respect, they gain their confidence and give them tools with which to protect themselves. Though some sex workers still have unprotected sex despite knowing about AIDS, the outreach workers have changed attitudes, raised self-esteem, and helped sex workers convince their clients to use condoms.
As a first step, the Vietnamese government should expand the education and outreach toward high-risk populations. For example, the needle-exchange program in Ho Chi Minh City should be expanded to include all addicts interested, not just the five percent now involved. These education and outreach programs should also be set up on a smaller scale in the capital of each province: as affluence spreads through the country, attendant social problems such as prostitution will also become an issue in the smaller cities and town.
The European nongovernmental organization Medicins Du Monde has set up a "Condom Coffee Shop" in the city's youth center to educate young people about HIV and AIDS. "We are targeting the heterosexual population with education, trying to get to them before HIV spreads even further to the general population," said Martine David, the 23-year-old Canadian who runs the program. The coffee shop is staffed with young volunteers trained to discuss HIV and AIDS prevention with their teenage and young adult clientele. They stage puppet shows and dramas that address HIV and AIDS and distribute free condoms with names like Trust and OK. David said they hope to start inviting high school classes to the coffee shop. "There is no condom education in the schools," she said. "Mainly, the teachers are too shy."
"The government does a good job on AIDS education with TV and radio, but the attitudes don't change," said David. "People tell me 'I go out with good girls,' or 'I'm a university student.' They see AIDS as a problem for prostitutes and drug users."
Programs like the Condom Coffee Shop, though minuscule, are effective because they appeal to people's intelligence, as well as to their fear of AIDS. Programs like these need to be expanded and set up in different areas of Vietnamese society, such as bars catering to businessmen or farmers.
Government billboards and television announcements that warn of the risks of HIV and AIDS are necessary, but this passive form of education is not as effective as the more active, individual education that changes attitudes. In Ho Chi Minh City, a married man who has unprotected sex with a prostitute may read a billboard on his way home urging him to be faithful to his wife to avoid AIDS. But it is only by changing sexual practices and ways of drug use that AIDS in Vietnam will be curtailed.
While the first part of Vietnam's AIDS strategy should address high-risk populations, the second phase should deal with mainstream society. A comprehensive sex education program should be set up for high school and university students. If the teachers are too shy to teach it, specially trained instructors should be used. Outreach programs promoting discussions of safe sex should then be developed and used with groups such as labor unions and other professional bodies.
It is essential that the control of these programs not be limited to "official mass organizations" such as the Women's Unions and the Youth Union. There must be mass participation on a local level to promote active education, not just the passive education from billboards and television. It is as necessary to reach the farmer in the countryside with AIDS education as it is to reach the doctor or government clerk in the city.
Although cultural practices that prevent the candid discussion of sex and AIDS remain strong in Vietnam, it is necessary to try to change these traditions; it's also best if these changes are done by the Vietnamese themselves and not by foreign nongovernmental organizations. Unfortunately for Vietnam, HIV and AIDS do not respect cultural traditions.

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