Helpful hints for international travelers

(previously posted in response to an attendee's question; now given its own thread)

International travel can be rather daunting the very first time, especially if you're by yourself. If you know anyone locally that will be going as well, maybe you can meet up with him or her at the airport and travel together. If not, here's a few pointers from someone who has done a lot of travel across international borders.

1) Make sure your passport is valid and that it will not expire within six months after your arrival. If you do not have a passport, then get one now!

2) You may wish to make your airline arrangements through a travel agency. They often have a number to call for help in the unlikely event that you get into trouble.

3) Pack light! Most airlines charge a fee to check bags nowadays and the fees are much higher if the bag is in excess of about 20 kg. Visit the airline's web site for guidance on how big a carry-on bag can be; don't count on carrying a week's worth of clothes and sketchbooks and things onto the plane because only small bags fit into the overhead compartment, and you are only allowed one small bag and one "personal item" such as a purse or briefcase. DO NOT pack any liquids, gels, or aerosols in your carry-on.

4) Bring reading material or some other form of entertainment. Sometimes the movies shown on airlines are *boring* and you're going to be in the air for about 8-9 hours. You can use small handheld games and music players and laptops starting about 10-15 minutes after takeoff and until just before landing, but you cannot use any cel phones or anything that emits a radio signal.

5) Plan to arrive one day early (Most folks arrive on Wednesday or Thursday, even though the con doesn't officially begin until Friday). If you are coming from Europe and you've never experienced east-to-west jet lag, the best thing to do is to get a good night's sleep the night before, and then keep yourself awake through the flight. You'll arrive in the USA at 3 PM, but your body will think it is 9 PM. It is important once you arrive in the States to stay awake until at least 9 PM local time or thereabout. That way when you go to bed, you'll wake up in the morning and be on the "local schedule." Where people run into trouble is when they nap on the plane, and then they aren't tired when they arrive and wind up staying awake until 4 AM, and then all the natural rhythms are thrown off.

6) It would not hurt to visit the airport a week or so before your departure. You won't be able to go through security, but you can at least get a look at the layout of the airport, see how long lines are, and so on. You can also peruse a map of the airport online -- most of them have such a thing these days.

7) Check in to your flight the night before leaving; you can do that online. Most sites let you select a seat and print your boarding pass at home. It saves a lot of time at the airport.

8)Plan to arrive THREE HOURS earlier than the flight departure time. You'll likely have to stand in security lines and answer a bunch of stupid questions at various points such as "did you pack your luggage? Did any scary men in turbans ask you to carry packages for them?"

9) Know where you are going. Print out Anthrocon's front page and have the name of the WESTIN CONVENTION CENTER HOTEL in your head.

10) When you arrive at the airport, the first thing is to check your luggage. Find your airline's counter. There are usually kiosks where someone who already has a boarding pass can check luggage. If you did not print out your boarding pass, you'll have to stand in a line that is considerably longer to get it. If you have no luggage to check and you have printed your boarding pass, then you can bypass the ticket counter entirely and go straight to the security line.

11) There will be a big board that will list all the flights and the gate from which they are departing, except I've noticed in England that they like to keep that information secret until the last minute. If you don't know where to go, you can visit the ticket counter for your airline and look for a friendly airline employee. Show your boarding pass and say, "Where should I be going?"

12) When you go through the security line, pay close attention to the instructions. They're repeated over and over but people still ignore them and cause big backups. If you have a laptop it must come out of its case and go through the X-ray machine separately (don't worry -- X rays won't hurt it). Take all metal out of your pockets. Have your passport and your boarding pass in your hand through the metal detector -- don't leave it behind because they'll check it on the other side of the detector. You may have to take your shoes off and put them through the detector as well.

13) Often they will take you out of line and pass a metal detecting wand over you. Don't worry. It's routine procedure.

14) Once through security, you can check the board to see which gate your flight will depart from. If the flight is listed but there is no gate, don't panic. It just means you've got time for coffee or a snack or whatever.

15) When your gate is announced, just go to it and be ready to join the cattle-line of people trying to board. They usually board by zone numbers that are printed on your boarding pass, but there's always dimwits who don't pay attention. It is a good idea to check with the gate agent to make sure they have your passport information on file.

16) Once on the plane, stow your bag (if you have one) and take your seat quickly. Don't fasten your seat belt if you're on the aisle until the row is filled, since someone will have to climb over you to get to the seat and you might as well just stand up.

17) In the air, your ears will certainly feel the pressure drop. Bring some gum or some hard candy to suck on. That helps me.

18) You may wish to consider bringing earplugs. I call these ABD's: Anti-Baby Devices.

19) In the air, they'll bring a scary-looking government form that must be filled out for your arrival.

20) When you land, follow the signs and the crowd to "Customs/Immigration" or "International Arrivals." There will be a bunch of booths at Passport Control. Make sure to go to one that is marked "Non-US Passport Holders"

21) Hand the nice agent your passport. At this point just answer the questions; don't try to make conversation and don't volunteer information. Common questions are "How long will you be in the US?" "What is the purpose of your visit?" and "Where will you be staying?" The answers are "6 days (or however many you plan to stay)," "A convention (and if they ask what kind of convention, say "A cartoon convention" because if you say "A furry convention" it will confuse the agent, and that's never a good thing to do. If they want more information, show the printout from Anthrocon's main web page)" and "The Westin Convention Center (or Doubletree, if you are staying there)." Don't be nervous. This person is just making sure you aren't Osama bin Laden. Unless you are Osama bin Laden, you have nothing to be worried about. Osama bin Laden would not know the name of the hotel he's staying at, you see.

22) Afterward, there are lines for Customs. As long as you aren't bringing any meat, cheese or vegetables (eat all that on the plane) or Cuban cigars or anything else we don't like to have in this country, then you can go to the "Nothing to declare" line, unless there's something you listed on your International Arrivals Card that indicates you need to declare it.

23) You pick up your luggage before you go through Customs, and that is where you hand over your arrival card. Once you get through that, Welcome to the USA!

24) Follow the signs for "Ground Transportation." There are various ways to get to the hotel, and those will be detailed on this web page as the convention gets closer.

25) Note: People in Pittsburgh may seem rude. It is not personal; that is just the local idiom. The accent sounds harsh and perhaps boorish to the British ear and sometimes it can seem that you are being talked down to. It's just our way of saying hello.