So, as some of you might be aware.. I’m flying across the ocean soon to attend Steemfest 3. While I’ve clearly been aware of this trip for awhile now, I just figured organizing the flight, hotel, passport and SF3 ticket sort of covered all my basic planning needs.
Hmmm... International Travel Woes? 🤔
Until I started to think about a few things.. you know like cellphone, credit cards, local currency, euro plugs and all that jazz. Maybe it’s because I’ve been so preoccupied stressing about the speech I’m giving there that these things just sort of slipped my mind.. or just because I’ve never really traveled internationally, who knows. BUT, turns out I had a lot left to do....
Cell Phone
I know that many have talked about needing to actually purchase a SIM card in Poland upon arrival to be able to use your cell phone.. because Americans need to be difficult with their technology apparently. But, I also know that when my Mother recently went abroad she just paid a daily fee to use her services and it worked fine.
So what gives?
What makes some phones/carriers work and not others? Well, google was no help and after about 30 minutes on the phone with my phone carrier they seemed to think the best option was to use WiFi and video chat services through WiFi. After many questions from myself...and them trying to avoid said questions, it seems my carrier did not support international travel at all (except of course Canada and Mexico as they kept reminding me).
Well, that didn’t really work for me.. so after a few more hours on the phone with other carriers, I got it figured out. I did have to switch to AT&T, which is fine because it’s one of the only ones that works on the mountain and it cost me nothing to switch.. same phone, same number.
So, I will be able to use my phone for voice/data/text just like I can here in the US.
Wahoooo!! This should make daily SteemFest blog updates (probably full of group selfies 👀) much easier!
Cellphone...✅
Credit Cards
Yeah, I hadn’t even thought of this.. are there fees? Can I even use them? I really don’t want to carry that much cash... so again, back to the phone...
This one went much easier than the dang cell phone at least.. luckily I just have one credit card that I use for points and then payoff, but I wanted to have the option to use it instead of carrying cash. After a few minutes on the phone with American Express that it all done and taken care of, gosh they are awesome
No international fees and they know I’m traveling so they won’t turn off my card thinking it’s fraud. whew! PLUS, they have this handy dandy option that lets me turn off my card remotely in case I misplace it.
Credit Cards... ✅
Currency
In Poland the local currency is the złoty and 1 złoty equals 0.26 United States Dollar. While Euros are also accepted in some larger establishments, it’s recommended we have some local currency too.
Good news is it looks like I can easily use a local atm to withdraw funds from my bank into the local currency (my bank does have a small fee for this but it’s managable). This option is great because I will only have to get what I actually need and will be cheaper than converting currency here before I go. To be safe I be bringing Euros along and can convert those when/if needed as well.
I’m actually heading over to Serbia after Poland so I needed to figure out the best way to trade for the Serbian Dinar there too. Crazy enough you can’t actually get the Serbian Dinar outside of Serbia, so that makes this pretty easy. I’m told (by locals I’ll be meeting there) that USD and Euros are easily exchanged at very good rates all over the city, so I don’t even have to worry about that until I get there. Plus, my Airbnb there was placed on my C/C at booking.. Ah, one less thing to worry about.
So, it sounds like I got that one all figured out as well 🙌🏼
Currency... ✅
European Electrical Outlets
Europe's electrical system is different from ours in two ways: the voltage of the current and the shape of the plug. American appliances run on 110 volts, while European appliances are 220 volts.
I can’t figure out if we as Americans are just silly or if our nationalism and stubbornness makes us want to go against the grain like we do. We just can’t join the rest of the world in metric measurements, so why would we join them on electrical charging plugs? sigh
While this isn’t a huge deal, it’s still one I need to be prepared for.. and while one converter might get me by.. the chances of me needing to plug in my laptop, cellphone, camera .. hell maybe even a curling iron if I’m feeling fancy all at the same time is very possible.. well at least two of those at once. Probably more, let’s be honest.
Easy fix..
Travel adapter for the win!!
That baby has 4 USB ports plus two plug ins.. I think that should cover all my electronic needs.
Crazy European Electrical Outlets... ✅
Local Language
Oh goodness, well I always wished I knew multiple languages but it’s not something that has ever come easy to me. I do know a bit of Latin so I can decipher many of the languages based on that.. which is helpful.. but not for speaking.
I’m gonna be super honest here.. I haven’t even looked into the Polish language and probably won’t. I know, I know! I actually feel out of respect for an area and it’s residents you should at least attempt to speak the language, instead of expecting everyone to speak English. But, seeing as SteemFest is going to be mostly spent around a melting pot of other steemians.. I’m not sure how much the local language will be used.
Plus, I mentioned Serbia right? Yes, I’m going there after and will be surrounded by only Serbians and I am attempting to learn a few simple phrases and names, hellos, goodbyes, please and thank yous.. because I believe they will come in handy.. and be a sign of respect for those locals I will be meeting.
I just didn’t feel that learning some Polish as well as Serbian was going to be within my reach for this trip.. (have you seen the Serbian language???).. so my dear fellow steemians.. hopefully you know enough Polish language to get us around, cause I’m not just gonna be smiling and nodding. 😁
Local Language ... ❌ 🤷♀️😬
Well, now you all know about the random things I’ve been stressing about for the upcoming trip and hey maybe this will help with a fellow steemians planning.. or just give you a giggle 😜
Now I can just go back to stressing about the speech...
Much Love and Steem On!
Hvala,
Justine
One Serbian word down... ✅