Nervous about International travel next week...

W

wmheel1287

Iconic Member
ZZL Supporter
Messages
1,972
My partner turns 50 on Oct 26 and I convinced him a year ago to take significant time off for the first time in his 25 years of teaching. We are flying to Barcelona next Saturday to spend a few days there and then taking a small ship cruise for 11 nights from there to ports on the Spanish Coast, Casablanca, and Tenerife. Generally, I am super excited to travel but this one has me anxious as hell. I worry about the shutdown affecting TSA and ATC. I worry about Americans being seen as international assholes. I worry about the re-entry and somebody being an asshole for no reason. Anyone else traveled lately and had those feelings?
 
Things have cooled somewhat in Barcelona. You will see signs, and maybe a little attitude, but as it is past peak tourist season, and you should be fine. Casablanca and Tenerife will have no issues. As to re-entry with the shutdown, I have no experience yet. I am flying to NC on the 30th into EWR first and am worried about the delays if shutdown hasn't ended by then.
My suggestion is to not wear anything that would label you as an obvious American (meaning no UNC gear as that is not a thing here and immediately labels you as American) and most people assume British first, at least in my experience. They will WANT you in Casablanca, and Tenerife should be pretty chill. There are pocket communities throughout the islands, including large German and British ones.
 
Last edited:
hereiam39 said:
Things have cooled somewhat in Barcelona. You will see signs, and maybe a little attitude, but as it is past peak tourist season, and you should be fine. Casablanca and Tenerife will have no issues. As to re-entry with the shutdown, I have no experience yet. I am flying to NC on the 30th into EWR first and am worried about the delays if shutdown hasn't ended by then.
My suggestion is to not wear anything that would label you as an obvious American (meaning no UNC gear as that is not a thing here and immediately labels you as American) and most people assume British first, at least in my experience. They will WANT you in Casablanca, and Tenerife should be pretty chill. There are pocket communities throughout the islands, including large German and British ones.
Click to expand...
Our return flight is Nov 2 so we will be coming in right behind you. I appreciate the feedback. Neither of us generally wear anything with school or team logos when traveling unless traveling specifically for a game.
 
wmheel1287 said:
My partner turns 50 on Oct 26 and I convinced him a year ago to take significant time off for the first time in his 25 years of teaching. We are flying to Barcelona next Saturday to spend a few days there and then taking a small ship cruise for 11 nights from there to ports on the Spanish Coast, Casablanca, and Tenerife. Generally, I am super excited to travel but this one has me anxious as hell. I worry about the shutdown affecting TSA and ATC. I worry about Americans being seen as international assholes. I worry about the re-entry and somebody being an asshole for no reason. Anyone else traveled lately and had those feelings?
Click to expand...
My parents are doing Spain and Portugal right now with some friends and are having a blast.
 
Friend of mine and his Canadian non-white wife are in Turkiye. So far, so good, though I told him he was crazy for return flying back from a Muslim country with his wife. This was the year to go to Scotland or Slovenia.
 
You should be fine...even with Carolina gear. Just have your danger antenna on, just like in any big city. Great time to visit.

Por favor and Gracias go a long way, even with the surly Spanish waiters.
 
CRHeel94 said:
You should be fine...even with Carolina gear. Just have your danger antenna on, just like in any big city. Great time to visit.

Por favor and Gracias go a long way, even with the surly Spanish waiters.
Click to expand...
Its interesting you mention language because I speak a minimum of Spanish was was concerned it might be "too mexican" to try in Spain
 
In general, people appreciate the effort.

Waiters in Spain can be a bit curt which is a contrast with the faux friendliness put out by waitstaff in the States.
 
I was worried about a friend of mine (who holds a green card) when she traveled to Europe this summer.... was pushing her to get citizenship before she left. Turns out she had zero problems and she was actually surprised when she was welcomed with open arms back into the country. There's a lot of bullshit going on, but some fears may be overblown.
 
My wife is a foreign national who travels abroad a lot and she has come and gone without incident. YMMV but I think it’s fairly smooth for citizens.
 
I was just in London a couple weeks ago for work. Returned prior to shutdown. London is of course different from Spain/Morocco, but other than a few lighthearted political jabs in jest, I did not experience anything remotely anti-American.

Generally speaking, the only people I see experiencing anti-American stuff are the type of American who decidedly deserve it. Maybe I'll get a bit more Parisian attitude in Paris if I'm there in July... but I'm guessing any tourist gets that.

I have no idea if the shutdown is impacting TSA staffing. If you do not have Global Entry, then maybe you'll have to wait in immigration for a while. I've noticed the TSA precheck lines closed down fairly often these days even before the shutdown... but I think that has more to do with trying to make money off of Clear.

I would not worry about getting harassed coming through TSA. The Trump stuff is very focused on people coming in on specific visa types, particularly student visas. I oversee the Global Mobility team for my company, and we have people coming and going on visas all the time. While there is a lot of chatter about people being nervous to travel, nothing has come back to me about them actually being harassed any more than normal... and this is a predominantly Indian population traveling in/out on work visas.
 
My wife and I traveled to Vienna and Prague 2 weeks ago and returned after the shutdown. We breezed through customs/TSA with Global Entry. If you don’t have GE it is DEFINITELY worth the hassle to get it.
 
wmheel1287 said:
My partner turns 50 on Oct 26 and I convinced him a year ago to take significant time off for the first time in his 25 years of teaching. We are flying to Barcelona next Saturday to spend a few days there and then taking a small ship cruise for 11 nights from there to ports on the Spanish Coast, Casablanca, and Tenerife. Generally, I am super excited to travel but this one has me anxious as hell. I worry about the shutdown affecting TSA and ATC. I worry about Americans being seen as international assholes. I worry about the re-entry and somebody being an asshole for no reason. Anyone else traveled lately and had those feelings?
Click to expand...
Coming back from Mexico was a breeze. Zero customs issues.

I think honestly people right now are sympathetic to Americans traveling. We aren't snobs anymore....we are looking for better things in the world than this crap country
 
Not trying to outright dismiss the TSA/govt shutdown mess or the anti-American sentiment outside of the country, but it’s really not something that should stress you out for this type of trip.

This is of course anecdotal but I’ve been flying a ton recently and honestly haven’t noticed much of a change one way or the other with the TSA experience. I would say plan to get to the airport extra early if that’s something you are worried about though. It can’t hurt.

As for worrying about sticking out like a tourist: it’s probably going to be obvious to most people that you’re an American tourist, but as long as you’re being courteous and mindful of your surroundings then more than likely no one is going to care or give you crap beyond maybe some playful banter. I actually disagree with the comments about not wearing UNC gear. I have a nondescript NC logo hat that I wear sometimes when I’m traveling internationally and I’ve had a few people with UNC ties notice it and strike up conversation, which I think is fun.
 
Kingpin said:
My wife and I traveled to Vienna and Prague 2 weeks ago and returned after the shutdown. We breezed through customs/TSA with Global Entry. If you don’t have GE it is DEFINITELY worth the hassle to get it.
Click to expand...
Global Entry made a huge leap forward when they expanded the use of facial recognition. The initial computer monitors when it first started were horrible. Now you just look at a camera, get a green light, nod to the person at the desk who barely notices you as you stroll by. Main "problem" is you end up spending a lot more time in baggage claim.
 
aGDevil2k said:
Coming back from Mexico was a breeze. Zero customs issues.

I think honestly people right now are sympathetic to Americans traveling. We aren't snobs anymore....we are looking for better things in the world than this crap country
Click to expand...
That makes sense. Most MAGAs don't travel internationally. I talked to a cabbie in Ireland last year and Trump came up; he mentioned that all of the Americans that he talked to were not fans. Then he added, "but I guess his supporters aren't very well traveled." Tru dat.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top