Catching the Gist

How to communicate when you don’t speak the language? In Italy, Jessica Colley fumbled toward an answer.

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Campania, Italy (Photo: Jessica Colley)

Subterranean Gulag Baroque: Travel Stories: In an excerpt from his new book, "Straphanger," Taras Grescoe explores Moscow's extraordinary Metro system

Still Listening: Travel Stories: On New Hampshire's Androscoggin River, Catherine Buni tried to draw her paddling partners into conversation. But her questions only got her so far.

Why We Travel: Travel Stories: In a classic essay, Pico Iyer explores the reasons we leave our beliefs and certainties at home to see the world with open eyes

Translating Respect: Travel Stories: In Italy, visiting Nigerian students asked Lenore Greiner to explain a classic American song

Detained in the Sahara: Travel Stories: It was night. Soldiers ordered Bill Donahue from the vehicle. Would they administer primitive justice?

Bali Belly and the Zombie Apocalypse: Travel Stories: When Linda Watanabe McFerrin fell ill, all the travel meds in the world couldn't keep the undead away

River a Mile Deep: Travel Stories: Michael Shapiro rafts down the Colorado in the wake of Captain John Wesley Powell

River a Mile Deep: Five Great Photos: photo: Images from Michael Shapiro's 24-day rafting trip down the Colorado River

Interview with Gideon Lewis-Kraus: ‘A Sense of Direction’: Travel Interviews: Frank Bures talks to the author about pilgrimage, authenticity and traveling in a world of infinite choices

Into Sacred Air: Travel Stories: In an excerpt from "Radio Shangri-La," Lisa Napoli makes the climb to Bhutan's Taktsang Monastery

Interview with Lisa Napoli: ‘Radio Shangri-La’ in Bhutan: Travel Interviews: Jim Benning asks the author about her memoir and how the Himalayan kingdom changed her

Confessions of an Introverted Traveler
Speaker's Corner: Sophia Dembling has a different style of traveling, and she's tired of hiding it
Confessions of a Chicken Man
Travel Stories: Doug Mack knows what you think of him when he orders the blandest thing on a foreign menu. He's okay with that.
Confessions of a Born-Again Cowboy in France
Speaker's Corner: At home in the United States, Peter Wortsman is more Woody Allen than John Wayne. But not in France.
Confessions of a Cross-Border Shopper
Speaker's Corner: Eva Holland took advantage of the strong Canadian dollar to cross the border and shop in New York.

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