Terrified and excited-- flying internationally alone

[kittyo9]

I'm leaving in a little over a week to go see my SO for the very first time. I'll by flying all alone from New York to Lima. I'm incredibly excited, but I'm also terrified-- it's not the first time I've flown alone, nor is it my first international flight, but it is the first time I'm flying internationally alone.

Would you guys tell me about the first time you ever flew internationally (or intercontinentally, which is, incidentally, also international) alone? I don't really need tips (although if you have some, they will not go unappreciated), I just want to hear your stories.

[Moon]

I have some friends that have a two week timeshare in Mexico, soon after my divorce they invited me to go for the second week. I'd flown internationally, but not by myself, and although I was a little nervous, it turned out to be no big deal. I had a tight connection in Houston, but made it with time to spare. All the way from Houston to Cancun, the little old Mexican lady sitting next to me had what seemed to be a very detailed conversation with me, despite my saying "No habla Espanol" and "No comprende" about a thousand times She was cute actually! I was a little worried about finding MY shuttle bus in the sea of shuttle bus peddlers, but it didn't take too long. I just followed my signs and paid attention, and it wasn't difficult at all.

Now, I travel to Finland by myself all of the time, I don't even think about it anymore. If I can't get a direct flight, I try to stop in interesting places along the way, it can be pretty fun, I look for a bit of adventure in every journey, since it's a long trip. After the first time doing it, it's a piece of cake. Just remember to pay close attention to signs and the announcements on the plane, if you're unsure, ask an attendant or an airline rep, they'll help you. Good luck, and don't worry too much, and just enjoy the experience.

[kirbycat]

My first solo international trip was a route I'd also flown with other people before, and I'd flown internationally many other times before then, so I wasn't very nervous. It was when I was serving in the Peace Corps in Micronesia (a group of islands in the western Pacific, kinda near the Philippines). It's a loooong flight from the US, with lots of stops - but, like I said, I'd made the trip with other people a few times before I had to do it alone, so I knew what to expect.

A more story-worthy experience was actually my third or fourth solo international flight. At the end of my Peace Corps service, I flew to Japan before coming home, to visit a friend who lives there. It was my first time in Japan, I don't speak or read the language, and I was going into Tokyo all by myself (my friend lives in a different city and had to work a couple days before she was able to meet me). After getting through customs, I had to find my way to the correct train into the city, and then navigate the streets of Tokyo to find my hostel. Fortunately, I had very well-written, illustrated directions from the hostel, so I managed to get there just fine - only got off the subway at the wrong stop once. Actually, I was much more worried about the culture shock than about the technicalities of traveling alone in a foreign country. I've done tons of traveling, and I'm a confident traveler. But, I'd just spent two years living on a teeny tiny Pacific island with no electricity, cars, or modern conveniences, in a village where literally everyone knew who I was and where I knew pretty much everyone else. Jumping from that environment straight into a massive, modern city like Tokyo was a bit jarring.

Ironically, things went a lot worse after my trip to Japan, when I traveled home. I was flying into Los Angeles, where I was going to be staying with a friend for a few days. But, she'd completely forgotten that I was arriving that day. I had no cell phone, no way to access the internet, and I couldn't remember my friend's phone number. I was completely jet-lagged, and it was my first time back in an English-speaking, Western-culture country in almost a year. After waiting at the airport for a few hours, with no clue as to my friend's whereabouts, I gave up and took one of the free shuttles to a nearby hotel. I used the free internet in the lobby to try to track down my friend, with no success...ended up on Facebook chat and happened to find one mutual friend - who happened to be in Ukraine at that time - who just happened to be online, and who just happened to have my LA friend's number in his old cell phone. I called her from the hotel pay phone, and an hour later she was there, with many apologies. It was a pretty stressful situation at the time, but also kind of hilarious in its absurdity, and I was quite proud of my own resourcefulness in figuring out how to track someone down in an unfamiliar city.

My three words of advice for international travel, and these are probably obvious, but: confidence, resourcefulness, and preparedness. Don't be nervous, just get going and do what you need to do to get to your destination. Make sure you have all the phone numbers, addresses, maps, and detailed directions you need - but be ready to get creative if you end up without some piece of information. Be safe, but don't be scared. Enjoy the adventure!

[Dezface]

I'm doing the same thing in two months time and I hate flying so I'm a bit freaked as well!!! I'm just glad it's non-stop as that would make it worse. Lol no words of wisdom, just good luck!

[kittyo9]

I'm doing the same thing in two months time and I hate flying so I'm a bit freaked as well!!! I'm just glad it's non-stop as that would make it worse. Lol no words of wisdom, just good luck!

Maybe this thread will help you, too! xD

[lucybelle]

My first international flight by myself was when I was 14 and I was going to do an exchange in Spain where I didn't speak the language. I wasn't as nervous about the flight as I was about the whole not speaking the language thing. Everything went just swimmingly. Don't worry, airports are made for people who have never been there before and who might not speak the language. You'll be able to navigate just fine.

Oh and if I recall you come through the SJO airport. There's no real food in there, so make sure you have snacks!

[kittyo9]

My first international flight by myself was when I was 14 and I was going to do an exchange in Spain where I didn't speak the language. I wasn't as nervous about the flight as I was about the whole not speaking the language thing. Everything went just swimmingly. Don't worry, airports are made for people who have never been there before and who might not speak the language. You'll be able to navigate just fine.

Oh and if I recall you come through the SJO airport. There's no real food in there, so make sure you have snacks!

Hahaha yes, on my way back I'll be coming through the SJO airport. I'll keep that in mind-- most likely I'll have lots of Peruvian treats by then!

[Haley53]

My first international flight, alone, we left probably around 4-5 hours in advance (it can be an hour to a couple hours to get to the airport) and ended up not getting to the airport until 20 minutes before my flight was scheduled to depart. There was an accident in the mountains with a death that had to be investigated, so as opposed to cutting through the mountain, we were re-routed around/over the mountain. An entire highway's worth of traffic on a one-lane road... Yeah, somehow my mother managed to clear an hour's worth of travel (after the traffic passed) in 15 minutes (maybe I was too in shock to notice how much she was speeding?). I remember getting up to the ticket counter and the lady being like YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO GIVE 3 HOURS FOR CHECK-IN, and I'm like yes, because I really planned for 4 hours of my time to be spent in traffic! But I made it to my gate with about 5 minutes to spare. It's definitely an adventure I can look back on now and laugh, but back then? Haha. Not so much.

Luckily my last international flight, my SO's, and hopefully this one all have gone (or will go) smoothly! I have also noticed that customs & immigration seem to either like me or want nothing to do with me... xD Except for one woman I got in England (she asked me the story of my ex which, at the time, was complicated, so she got the whole story, LOL), which was semi-understandable, everyone's been friendly to me! We typically end up chatting and maybe having a laugh or they give me a bright smile and pass me through. I really hope this streak continues. o_o

[kittyo9]

Except for one woman I got in England (she asked me the story of my ex which, at the time, was complicated, so she got the whole story, LOL), which was semi-understandable, everyone's been friendly to me! We typically end up chatting and maybe having a laugh or they give me a bright smile and pass me through. I really hope this streak continues. o_o

Gosh, no one even says boo to me when I'm in the airport. The most anyone has talked to me was the German lady who had to pat me down when I forgot to take my keys out of my pocket.

[lucybelle]

Gosh, no one even says boo to me when I'm in the airport. The most anyone has talked to me was the German lady who had to pat me down when I forgot to take my keys out of my pocket.

Have you been to Latin America before? I don't know if I imagine this or not, but I totally feel like I get grilled more when I'm coming from or going to Latin America than the EU. I remember this one guy was like "why would you go there?" I told him to travel and sightsee, he was like "yeah but why there?". Geeze louise dude! He asked me about my bags, what was in them, kind of peaked, asked how long I was staying and eventually stamped me through. But this is in the USA. Usually the actual Latin American countries don't give a damn. In fact just yesterday when I came back to CR the guy was like "so you're a teacher?"
me-"yes"
guy- "what do you teach?"
me- "science"
guy- "your Spanish is really good"
me- "yeah, it's okay"
guy- *stamp stamp* "have a nice day"

[kittyo9]

Have you been to Latin America before? I don't know if I imagine this or not, but I totally feel like I get grilled more when I'm coming from or going to Latin America than the EU. I remember this one guy was like "why would you go there?" I told him to travel and sightsee, he was like "yeah but why there?". Geeze louise dude! He asked me about my bags, what was in them, kind of peaked, asked how long I was staying and eventually stamped me through. But this is in the USA. Usually the actual Latin American countries don't give a damn.

I haven't been to Latin America before, just various countries in Europe. Do you think they'll believe me if I tell them I'm visiting my boyfriend I met online? :P

[Tooki]

I haven't been to Latin America before, just various countries in Europe. Do you think they'll believe me if I tell them I'm visiting my boyfriend I met online? :P

From what I've been told, it's more of a case of US customs being anal. I've never been told of a weird situation with Australians coming back from South America.

I'm guessing that you might get a question or two from immigration in the US

[kittyo9]

Leaving tonight...

[lucybelle]

Have funnnnn!!!!

[Adora]

Me too Kitty, I'm doing it alone in 3 weeks too thanks for putting this thread on, I can steal your tips haha x