I Must Be Off! is having its first annual Travel Essay Contest. Each entry will appear at first without byline or bio. These will be added at the end of the contest. As you enjoy these travel essays from around the world, please feel free to comment; but if you offer criticism, remember to be […]
Tag: Culture
Expat Author Interview with Claudia from Expatclic.com

Claudia from Expatclic.com v:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} o:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} w:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} .shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);} Claudia is the founder and coordinator of the website Expatclic.com. After having lived in Sudan, Angola, Guinee-Bissau, Congo Brazzaville, Honduras and Peru, she is presently enjoying a rich and interesting life in Jerusalem. Claudia has two children and speaks Italian, English, French, Spanish and […]
The Long Night of Museums
(Important! If this post is cut off at the bottom, reload the page. This usually solves the problem.) ___________________________ This is difficult, but I need to confess something to you. I hate museums. It’s not that I’m particularly uncultured–I’m so cultured I’m practically bacterial. Museums make my legs hurt. If it were possible to run […]
A Year in Wacky Signs
(Important! If this post is cut off at the bottom, reload the page. This usually solves the problem.) Do your friends walk 20 meters in front of you when you’re taking pictures of signs? Do they whisper under their breath, “Oh God, Chris is taking another picture of a sign.”?Do theymake gestures–signs of their own […]
Don’t Pull the Finger at the Great Pyramids
Last year, a few months before I visited the Holy Land with my parents, I was on the phone to my mother discussing our plans for the trip. “We’re going to Alexandria and Jerusalem, and, let’s see,” she said. “I think Gaza is on the trip.” “Gaza?” I laughed. “I don’t think Gaza will be […]
My AAA therapy: Germany

As most university freshmen in the US do, I started waiting tables to pay my way through school. By the time I started my master’s degree in English, I was managing the best restaurant in Nashville: Then The Cakewalk, now Zola, owned by my friends Ernie and his wife Debra Paquette, deservedly an award-winning chef. […]