Travel Scary (noun)
An unnerving travel experience or situation encountered that induces fear, anxiety, or discomfort due to potential risks, unfamiliar environments, or unsettling circumstances.
Everyone experiences a hiccup in their travel plans here and there. Mine began with a routine stop at customs… over and over again. Here’s what I did to prevent this from continuing!
Don’t Panic
The first time I got stopped at customs, I was shocked. I’ve been traveling since I could barely form sentences, so this was a new experience. I was pulled away to a side office while the officer stared at my passport, then at his computer, and then at me. This happened two more times before he sighed dramatically and tossed my passport back at me.
“You’re good. NEXT.”
And that was it. The drama? Completely unnecessary. The rest of the process was smooth sailing. I felt silly for getting worked up.
Don’t Be Afraid to Ask
By my third international trip, I’d had enough of the routine stops, so I finally asked an officer why they kept pulling me aside.
“You have the same name as someone on the no-fly list. We need to check to make sure you’re not them.”
Wait, WHAT? Someone with my exact name is on the no-fly list? Of course, the chances of that happening were never zero. But seriously, what are the odds?
Don’t Wait to Take Action
The first two times I was stopped, I just let the system do its thing. But by the third time, I decided to take matters into my own hands and figure out what was going on. “How can I avoid this?” I asked.
The solutions? Surprisingly simple:
- Get a Dominican passport (thanks, mom, for the dual citizenship opportunity).
- Change my name.
- Do nothing and just continue getting stopped for extra checks every time I travel.
I chose option #1—because honestly, I’d been thinking about getting a Dominican passport for a while anyway. A win is a win!
As far as travel hiccups go, this was pretty minor overall. And in the process, I learned to ask the right questions, take control of the situation, and turn a travel inconvenience into a win.
xx,
Steph