Have you ever returned home, only to feel like home was more foreign than any of the exotic locales you've visited? You're not alone. Reverse culture shock has a way of ambushing people, despite how much you may have heard about it. When we travel, we have our awareness up. We know we must learn...

The academic schedule is like a shell game. For all of our school years, we get used to having summers off. Then once we start working, those glorious three months get cut down to two weeks. For those of us who live in the United States, that is. Every once in a while, the media...

One of the most eye-opening moments when working abroad is finding about all the differences between your host culture and home culture. For example, a Japanese salaryman might accept unpaid overtime as business as usual. A French worker, on the other hand, might disagree with staying beyond normal business hours. Salon.com did a detailed comparison...

Lonely Planet has been releasing a free roadtrip itinerary each week, from its new title USA’s Best Trips: 99 Themed Itineraries Across America , due out in September. The itineraries are available in .PDF form until the end of August (Labor Day to Americans). If you're in the States and want to test their road...

As China and America's relationship draws them ever closer together, it was inevitable that some influences would cross borders. UPI had a great photo essay dedicated to this topic: American brands in China . How do you feel when you encounter American brands abroad? My reactions have varied. In Europe, I shunned Starbucks like the...

Although there are a lot of people in other developed countries who don't travel, Americans tend to get singled out as the worst offenders. Backpackers love to repeat the statistic of how few Americans hold passports as proof ( read more about this myth ). This article from Brave New Traveler, Are Americans afraid to...

It has such a diabolically recognizeable shape: like a huge metallic marital aid, zipping along down the highway. Airstream RVs make us long for a nostalgic past that never was: the 50s and 60s as they should have been, with tiny fold-down couches. There aren't many recreational vehicles other than motorcycles that have spawned such...