It was a 12 hour flight just from Los Angeles to Frankfurt. That was preceded by a flight from San Antonio to Los Angeles, and it was followed by the 3-hour flight from Frankfurt to Moscow.

Most of what people had told me wasn’t useful, but using my EQ was. Here are some tips if you’re traveling abroad that I gathered on my recent trip to Russia.

PREPARE TWO WEEKS IN ADVANCE

Gradually start acclimating yourself to the new conditions. Purchase a sports waist pack, the kind that has holders for two water bottles. You can put water in one of them, and orange juice or something else in the other, or pack the second bottle, and use the extra compartment for things you need to have at hand – like sunglasses, reading glasses or your plane ticket. Buy a necklace packet to put your passport and license in.

Start using the waist pack at least two weeks in advance. Get used to the feel of it so you’ll know when it’s there and when it isn’t. Also strengthening the different muscles you’ll be using.

Do NOT use a backpack, and do not put your waist pack behind you. Anything on your back is very easy for pickpockets to enter, and, judging from what happened on our tour, you will never know it happened. There’s also a great black market for expensive camera lenses, and they will be removed from the camera slung on your back without your ever feeling it.

PROGRAM YOUR INTUITION

Start programming your intuition to help you stay alert and safe. You are not going to be in Kansas any more, and good reality-testing and planning is an important part of EQ.

It’s very easy to tune out on long trips with many time zones. Furthermore, in Russia in the summer, there are only a couple of hours of darkness (aka “white nights”), so the sleep cycle continues to be interrupted. We’re over stimulated, so we naturally want to close down, but this isn’t the time to do it. Work on your self-talk. Choose a positively-stated expression and say it to yourself several times a day – “My intuition will keep me safe and healthy.”

Add a few important tips to this if you like:

Drink only bottled or canned products Remember to state these positively, not “Don’t drink the water,” because your subconscious doesn’t hear the word “don’t”. In the US, it is second nature to us to drink water anywhere so you will have to override what is almost instinct. Alert me if someone is touching my possessions. Remind me when I’m getting too tired or hungry and need to refresh. Know when I need to be doing something.

STRESS RELIEF

Remember the things that can help you relax, stay alert and take care of business. If you start “flooding,” breathe deeply until you can think clearly again. Use meditation or yoga techniques.

You will have preconceived notions and surprise emotions wherever you travel. EQ means accurate and rapid reality-testing, overriding unhelpful emotional responses and focusing on what needs to be done. Remind yourself of how to do this. (Get some EQ coaching!)

TIME ZONES & CURRENCIES

There are lots of tools to help you. Buy a handheld computer, or print out a chart from the Internet, laminate it and put it on your wallet. Then you can pull it out when needed. It’s called “one less thing to worry about.”

LEARN BASICS IN THE LANGUAGE

This is one of the most emotionally intelligent things you can do. Why? Because emotional intelligence is the universal language, and will be understood globally. Being able to say a few essential words in the new language ingratiates you to people—it makes them feel good and so they treat you better. Acknowledge the people you meet as individuals. The same things “work” the world over – respect for others, good manners, acknowledgement of people as people.

The times we thanked people who helped us, using what Russian we knew, produced stronger results than tips, believe it or not. We got free drinks, free matryoshkas, free flowers, key chains, and a bump to the front of the line. This wasn’t the intent of our actions, but it was honest emotional exchange, person to person.

Carry a piece of paper with the name of your ship or hotel, and the address and phone number with you, preferably in the native language. Learn a few key phrases in the new language – Where’s the toilet? I need a policeman. Where’s my ship? I need a doctor. In a pinch, using just the noun will work - police, ship, toilet, hospital.

CLOTHES & PACKING

If you’re traveling for pleasure, you want to be comfortable and look presentable, but it doesn’t have to be a fashion show. Nearly everywhere, it’s good to have layers.

Russia can be cold in the summertime, so I brought along an old windbreaker I have that had torn. I just discarded it along the way, along with some other old clothes I’d brought along. This leaves room for the things you buy on your trip. Break in the shoes you’re going to wear for at least two weeks before you leave. If you haven’t had a blister in several years, you’ve forgotten that it can really be debilitating.

Buy for the trip something your mother would call “sensible shoes.” You probably won’t realize how much walking there is on most tours, trust me. In fact,

COMMON SENSE PRECAUTIONS

Check with the State Dept. (Internet site) and your primary care physician about what immunizations to get, what medicines to carry with you, and the mosquito situation. Dengue fever or malaria would not be a good souvenir of your trip. It’s recommended you buy travel medical insurance which includes transportation back to the US for treatment. Are medical facilities different in other countries? On our ship cruising the rivers in Russia, the ship doctor was also the masseuse.

WORK WITH YOUR PARTNER FOR SAFETY

Be attuned with the person you’re traveling with so you can help one another. Practice safety. Remind one another to stay alert, and practice the pick pocket experience – you must assume, when traveling, that someone bumping up against you is not a positive thing.

Regardless of the country you’re visiting, pickpockets love tourists because there is what the police call “opportunity.” That is, there are people, with money, who are distracted, and people who need money who are focused.

Picture yourself in a crowd of 50 crammed side-by-side waiting to see the famous peacock clock in the Hermitage start turning. Picture someone in your tour group fainting. Picture a screaming child on the sidewalk. Picture yourself finally seeing the Amber Room in Catherine’s Palace. Picture yourself dozing on a park bench in a beautiful Russian park in 80 degree weather.

Where will your attention be? Not on your waist pack, back pack or purse. Keep your hands on your possessions. Be aware of movement and alert to any change. Don't tune out.

Have alternate places for some of your money and/or credit cards – a money belt around waist or neck, inside underwear, very deep side pants pocket, etc.

DON’T COMPARE

If you want things to be like they are in your home town, or your home country, stay there. Otherwise, expect the unexpected and be flexible.

It is highly insensitive to tell someone who earns $2 an hour that the $20, 1-hour massage they offer you is “so cheap.” It’s also insensitive to blame the tour guide for something beyond his or her control (such as a late-opening museum), or to blame the waitperson for a meal you don’t like.

While people attending you may not respond in your language, or appear to understand, chances are high they’ve come to understand the usual tourist phrases, so hold your tongue.

EQ & MANNERS

The one thing we all have in common, no matter where we live, is feelings. Go back to the basics.

1. Smile, say “please” and “thank you” and “excuse me”.
2. Treat others with respect and acknowledge them as individuals.
3. Ask for help, don’t demand it.
4. Be courteous.
5. Speak clearly and slowly, not louder, as if the person you’re speaking to is an idiot or hard-of-hearing. 5. Wear a head covering in other country’s places of worship.
6. No matter how annoying the street peddlers are, remember they’re “just doing their job,” like you do. 7. Help others in your group who aren’t so savvy – sharing mosquito repellant and Immodium ID, waking fellow passengers who’ve fallen asleep in the airport, helping parents traveling with kids, and seniors. All of these could/may well happen to you one day! 8. Don’t hog the airtime when on a tour with questions designed to show how much you already know.

Also, don’t waste your time and energy, and those of others, complaining to people who don’t have authority to change things, like your local tour guide or cruise director. If you have serious praise or concern, take it to the home office. (This of course doesn’t apply to emergencies.)

Use your head about who has responsibility for what. Cruise ships get held up because the Coast Guard demands inspections, and Customs Officials run late. This is not under the control of the cruise line or of any person standing in front of you. The bus driver on your tour bus is only peripherally connected to the people who make decisions about where the bus goes. The stewardess on Lufthansa did not personally prepare your meal. Understand the difference between poor quality food and poorly prepared or presented food and your own personal taste.

EQ & MONEY

Plan a budget ahead of time and stick to it. Don’t be influenced by the emotions of the moment.

USE YOUR EQ

Staying healthy, safe and alert is an important part of your travel experience. Changing numerous time zones, and flying for hours on end can dull the mind, and looking at fascinating new things can pull your focus. Prepare yourself ahead of time for a great travel experience and use your emotional intelligence.

About the Author

Susan Dunn, The EQ Coach, GLOBAL EQ. Emotional intelligence coaching to enhance all areas of your life - career, relationships, midlife transition, resilience, self-esteem, parenting. EQ Alive! - excellent, accelerated, affordable EQ coach certification. Susan is the author of numerous ebooks, is widely published on the Internet, and a regular speaker for cruise lines. For marketing services go here.