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Experiences travelling to Europe
When my now ex wife and I moved to London several years ago, the immigration officer, female, puzzled over me after 2 second glances at ex and kids.
She studied my passport photo which had my former name and photo, but my residency visa had a very fem photo.
My ex made me dress male for the first time in a couple of years convincing me “it would be easier”
The officer pulled me aside and asked what name I prefer to be called. So I gave me my new name. She then smiled and said “Next time you pass through immigration, wear a pretty dress. You deserve to.”
I nearly cried.
A year later I flew out of London to several EU cities. Glammed up, passport with old photo and name. Not an eye batt in Switzerland, Italy or Germany. Lots of smiles and offers of extra help.
What was the difference? Going yo London external people put false fears in my head.
Doing my trip, I was oh so confident and proud.
Even got chased around Rome by a guy all day.
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7 Replies
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When my now ex wife and I moved to London several years ago, the immigration officer, female, puzzled over me after 2 second glances at ex and kids.
She studied my passport photo which had my former name and photo, but my residency visa had a very fem photo.
My ex made me dress male for the first time in a couple of years convincing me “it would be easier”
The officer pulled me aside and asked what name I prefer to be called. So I gave me my new name. She then smiled and said “Next time you pass through immigration, wear a pretty dress. You deserve to.”
I nearly cried.
A year later I flew out of London to several EU cities. Glammed up, passport with old photo and name. Not an eye batt in Switzerland, Italy or Germany. Lots of smiles and offers of extra help.
What was the difference? Going yo London external people put false fears in my head.
Doing my trip, I was oh so confident and proud.
Even got chased around Rome by a guy all day.
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Love it. It just goes to show that you should be true to yourself.
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Awesome Prisee
Great to see that you gained confidence. The immigration folks are looking for people to be truthful and they picked up on the discrepancy as a red flag. So being true to yourself would have been an easier passage thru.Juliette
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The reality was I was happy to fly in a dress. I flew back to Australia in a dress. Customs pulled me aside to clean one of my bags and helped me find my way. I didn’t even ask for help and was still on old passport.
The person with issues was my wife! Even my kids prefer their new female parent.
So I’ve learned that other people manifest fear in me and have since chosen to accept a persons fear but that’s not changing me.
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That is an awesome outcome and attitude Prisee.
Juliette
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Love that bit about other folk manifesting fear within. To me that is a major button, press the button and the fear becomes a mountain, ignore the button, and!
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That’s a confidence booster for all of us Prisee. You are indeed a brave lass. Good on you. Regards Marian
