When you arrive at any airport, you’ll almost certainly be greeted with a line or series of lines that you need to clear to proceed to your terminal. Security procedures vary around the world but you’ll face some form of scrutiny of your bags and at least some search of your person.

In the States, it’s mostly done with machinery and a roster of TSA agents who have no time for nonsense or anything resembling a sense of humor. They are paid to take their jobs seriously, and this will become obvious if you don’t keep the line moving as they specifically ask you to.

This overreach is one that we are all just forced to endure and has been a prominent feature of all air travel since September 11, 2001. But I find the key to an uneventful passage through security is being prepared for the hoops you know you will have to jump through.

If TSA asks you to do something, it should be seen as more of a command than a request, the same way law enforcement may issue commands and you must obey them. The same rules apply here. The best way to get through this without enduring the additional violation of a “secondary” screening is to take it seriously, sort your belongings as advised, and be polite.

You’re going to notice a recurring theme in these posts and that is just a general point about how you should present yourself. Be polite and try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. You’re going to see people having anything from their best to worst day ever at the airport. A little empathy goes a long way.

If you’re an American like I am, you might wonder how other societies treat one another, given our recent penchant for division based on silly and often meaningless things.

Traveling internationally allows you to see this internal relationship firsthand and hold up other countries in comparison to where you call home. You can then take these observations and allow them to inform how you treat your fellow citizens when you return.

If you visit a country that is over-the-top in the way they respect one another, what could it possibly hurt to mirror this behavior where you live?

Granted, this could go the wrong way if you visit places that are actively engaged in conflict, but you should use your judgment to decide if you want to visit those places at all. I want to see all of these places too, but I would delay plans if I deemed them to be too risky based on the information I can collect from reputable sources.

When you visit another country, you are a guest. How would you treat guests from other nations in your own home or community? You may need to spend some time reflecting on the question and deciding how you feel about your answers. What you find out may let you know a great deal about yourself and where your travels should take you.

“Don’t drink the water!” – A refrain from anyone who has visited a developing nation that lacks the infrastructure for clean-ish drinking water.

I can speak about this one on a personal level because I forgot about this crucial piece of advice when I visited Vietnam. I made the mistake of ingesting some of the local water and paid for it with a couple of day’s worth of diarrhea as my body sorted out why it was being assaulted. In the same period, I had managed to sustain a rather large gash on my hand that needed to be bandaged and treated for infection proactively. I found my way to a drugstore and I was able to buy prescription-strength antibiotics and ointment over the counter because the restrictions on such things are a lot looser in Vietnam, thankfully.

Let this serve as a precautionary tale. Your body may have a similar reaction to the food and drink of your destination and there is nothing inherently wrong with this. Your body is adjusted to the environment in which it spends the most time, and if you find yourself in a place with different standards of cleanliness, you must remain diligent. Do your research and pack accordingly. Leave room in your kit for any supplies you feel would help you stay happy and healthy.

If the water is even a possible gray area, bring along some treatment in the form of tablets or filters, or consider purchasing bottled water in your destination. When purchasing bottled water, be sure to check the seal for any tampering because it isn’t uncommon to find bottles refilled locally and sold as fresh from the factory.

It’s just one example, but be proactive and you’ll reduce the chances that you spend the trip retching in the bathroom the whole time.