Janet Thompson has traveled around the U.S. and Canada as a speaker and trainer. She is also a breast cancer survivor. Here she offers you Do's and Dont's when someone you care about is diagnosed with cancer.

by Sharron Pankhurst
No matter where I’ve traveled—Paris, Italy, Barcelona, Denmark, St. Petersburg, and, a personal favorite, Santorini in the Aegean Sea—when I made time to sit back and people-watch, I realized that they were just like me. I saw women with short hair, long hair, tinted hair with roots, old men with canes, young women with a baby on their hips … I saw me and I saw you.

by Michelle Clavijo-Diaz
Today the adventure traveler is an individual looking for a more hands-on experience than the usual vacation of lying on a beach to get a tan line. This traveler doesn’t want to just see the rapids, they want to ride them, they want to climb the tallest mountain, not photograph it from a distance.

by Karen Schroeder
Secularism is alive and well in this Holy Land to the Jewish, Muslim, and Christian peoples. Just as within Christianity, there is the spectrum of the secular to the devout within each of the Abrahamic faiths. This, of course, causes much of the tension within Israel, but also creates the richness and depth of the country.

by Kay Dygert
Before my big toe hit the steaming hot bathtub of water, a terrifying thought crossed my mind. If the electrical adaptor didn’t work on the travel iron, then it might not work on my hairdryer or curling iron. I was in a small room full of moist vapor and these were my only tools that kept my naturally curly hair from frizzing.

by Chris Defever
Our first Christmas in Poland and our family’s walk down memory lane was interrupted by loud knocking at our front door.

by Michele Howe In a foreign airport, we watched as a teenager with her parents asked for a couple more ketchup packets. When told she’d have to pay for more, she fussed, “In America we can have five free ketchups if we want them!”

--Make a list of your prescription and nonprescription medications so that you don’t forget anything. Leave all medications in their original bottles. --Remember to pack Band-Aids (for blisters), Benadryl (for itchiness) and sun block (for healthy skin). Put an extra set of underwear and a clean shirt into your carry-on bag just in case you get separated from your luggage.

by Phil W., Santa Margarita, CA
It was probably the most interesting discussion I’ve ever had with new business associates. I have since learned to educate myself on local customs before I say a casual, “Sure” to any invitation.

“Offered from the Galilee to the Negev, Israeli food is culturally diverse and a smorgasbord for the senses. Hummus, falafel, and a salad of cucumbers and tomatoes are local favorites with herbs and spices reflecting the tastes of the region. Accompanying these dishes is a wide variety of breads—from the sweet to the hearty.”