One of my favorite international airport

What are the factors that you like about airports?  Well, one aspect that I like is how easy is it to reach the terminal.  I like to start at the beginning.  Once at the terminal, I like to breeze through the check-in process and security, which has become much more difficult after 9-11.  Although I am grossly negligent in doing so for domestic travel within the United States, I always arrive early for international departures or when I am traveling abroad, so I expect to have to wait and wait and wait!  Airports can be terribly boring or not so boring.  I like the not so boring … either have a nice lounge or interesting shops.  Provide me some amusement.  I grudgingly almost belong to the generation that is amusing itself to death.  Among my travels thus far, I think that I have found such an airport.

A couple of years ago, we visited Amsterdam.  I must say that I was most impressed with their airport.  I liked Amsterdam too and no, I didn’t visit the red light district or coffee shops.  The Amsterdam airport is very clean and easy to navigate, but even better, there are many shops to occupy your time.  I must admit that on arrival I did not notice so much how nice the airport was.  I was ready to start exploring the city; however, on departing Amsterdam, I realize, “what a nice airport?”  We were departing early in the morning and there was not much of a crowd.  Our taxi took us directly to our terminal where we easily checked in and proceeded through security, hassle free.  Everything was easy to find and follow.  To our surprise, it seemed as if all the shops where open, so we bought those last minute gifts, which were probably 10 times more at the airport than the city.  Our gate area was not impressive, but the rest of the airport was.

As airports go, this one is nice … so, is the city!

What anti-Americanism?

Ever since the United States’ invasion of Iraq, a certain segment of the population, specifically liberals and left of center individuals have pointed to poll after poll, stating that anti-Americanism is on the rise or at all time highs.  Some have gone as far to suggest that international travel could be perilously for US citizens.  I think that this line of thinking oversimplifies international relationships.

I have traveled to several countries after 9-11 and the Iraq invasion and must say that I am either blatantly oblivious, which I doubt, or this anti-Americanism where I must feel threaten has not materialized … at least in the countries that I have visited, which included North America, South America, Europe, and Africa.  As an aside, I did not masquerade as a Canadian, nor did I wave the US flag at every opportunity.  Bottom line, when asked where I am from, I proudly said the US without sounding boastful.

Conversely, I am not naive enough to believe that a lot of countries and their citizens are unhappy with us, primarily because of our Iraq policy.  I give people in other countries much more credit than some alarmists.  People in other countries can understand the difference between a government policy and its people.  Perhaps, people in other countries are more tolerant of different views and ideas than we are here, while they disagree with us, they are not going to spit in our face.

The four continents that I have visited since 9-11 and Iraq, I must say that everyone has been courteous and friendly.  But I always try to comport myself in a non-arrogant way, remembering that I am a visitor.  I am also respectful of local customs to the extent that I understand them and make a serious effort to speak and understand the language.  I remember being in Portugal in 2006 and receiving compliments on my Portuguese.  My Portuguese is terrible, but I tried, and didn’t just assume that everyone would speak English, which most people did.

So, maybe how we conduct ourselves abroad has much more to do with how others perceive us than our foreign policy.