When you start your traveling journey you have your checklist of things to prepare ahead of time. You’ve got your passport, your travel insurance, and your clothing all packed and secured.
But there are some aspects of travel and being abroad that you may not think to prepare for.
I’m going to help give a rundown of social and cultural things to prepare for before traveling abroad.
Smoke Is In The Air
Having grown up in the United States, for decades the tobacco industry has such a dynamic impact on society. Today, I almost never see high school kids smoking cigarettes.
Whereas only a few decades ago, it used to be commonplace for teens, adults, and sometimes even pregnant women to have a smoke very now and then. There were smoking sections in restaurants, trains and even airplanes.
In current times, more than half of the the US now has laws covering smoking in most public spaces, restaurants and bars.
But once you leave American soil, you my find that many countries and cultures around the world have a more casual relationship with smoking tobacco. (check out my colleagues expression in the photo.)
Tips to Prepare for Smoke and Other Pollutants Abroad
1. If you have asthma, bring an inhaler or two and any asthma related medication you use.
2. If you have severe allergies to bites and stings; make sure you have an EpiPen or Neffy nasal spray
3. Bring along an antihistamine such as Benadryl
4. Consider using a neti pot to help flush irritants like smoke out of your nasal passage
5. Masking when you can, have a few N95 masks if you are extra sensitive to smokey air
Overall, you know your body best and just be aware that smoking laws, policies and practices are varied or non existent when you travel abroad.
Tip: Prepare yourself the best way you can. But do not focus so much on it that it ruins your trip, just be prepared.
2. Walking To Your Plane on the Tarmac
Getting to the airport, waiting in line and making it through security and arriving at your gate is normally the most stressful part of travel both on international and domestic flights.
Before travelling abroad, I thought boarding the plane via the jet bridge or that tunnel that takes you directly from the airport onto the aircraft was the standard.
In reality airports all over the world have boarding processes that require you to leave the airport and climb up a flight of stairs to the plane doors.
Austria, Morocco, Poland, Vietnam, and Kenya, just to name a few places where I’ve had to leave the airport in order to board the plane.
Some planes I’ve boarded solely by foot across the tarmac and others by an airport bus that transported myself and the other passengers to the plane.
For some this may not be a big change to your travel plans, but for others with mobility or accessibility concerns this may be something you may need to prepare for ahead of time.
In other words, in many countries, you, the flight attendants and even the pilots, may have to walk outside on the tarmac to catch your flight.
3. Personal Space Across Cultures
Most people never even think about how close you stand when meeting, greeting or speaking to other people.
Keep in mind when you travel some cultures proximity is different then in western countries.
Personal space in other cultures was probably one of the most shocking thing for me to experience when I was traveling and living abroad. Although I knew I was going to a small town, I had no idea I would be one of the few if only American and certainly Black American in the province.
The locals in my small town were stunned to see me, and my thought was with all the social media, I was too taken by surprise that they were shocked.
My first day in Vietnam, I was eating dinner with one of my university teachers and the owner of the restaurnt came over and began gently stroking my hair. It was bad enough I had to sit on the tiny stools that are common everywhere!
Another time, my students asked permission to feel my skin. Now, Im not sure if these university students thought my brown skin would be rough like an alligator, but I allowed 40 students that day touch the back of my hand and forearm and they were shocked, saying “it was soft and smooth.” Thank goodness I lotioned up that morning!
Here are a few tips just to prepare yourself.
- Whatever country you decide to visit. Understand the personal space proximity is for that country.
- Watch the locals and see how close they are to each other when sitting talking, socializing, etc.
- Adapt and communicate if you do not understand the proximity.
- Be respectful and open your mindset to understanding the culture of others.
As an American, my daughter ane I had to really adapt to the lack of personal space, even how close the person stood behind us in the grocerty store or in line at the airport. Even if I saw my students in public, they always grabbed and hugged my arm, I soon learned it was a sign of affection, and after a while it did not bother me as much.
These are just a few examples of cultural differences when you travel. Its best to open your mind to a world of otherness to have a great experience during your time abroad.
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