Originally Posted by
LHR/MEL/Europe FF
I dare say most travelers have a sense of what is required and when during their travels. I have been to many countries where they don't speak English, but if I come up to some check point then I usually figure out, by observing others, what needs to be done and how. if I'm not sure then I have my passport and boarding pass, the officer can choose what they want and I'm on my way.
This. I've been through multiple foreign airports and I've never been at a loss for what to do. If it's security, do as the people in front of you are doing. If it's paperwork hand over your passport and boarding pass or whatever you were given on the plane.
The one thing I've seen that might have given me trouble was the day my wife tripped the radiation detectors in PVG. She handled it but she's a native speaker.
I know many countries also have sheets in different languages which explain procedures, especially if you are about to be searched. but honestly, 99.9% of people can actually work out that if you set of a scanner, that there will be either a search, or the whole 'take off belt, take off shoes, take of watch' routine until you get through without setting off the device.
That wouldn't have worked with the rad detector my wife set off. That was resolved entirely by talking even though she had forgotten the card from the lab that said why she was hot.