anything to declare? yes, just my undying disgust

You really have to dig deep to find even a milligram of love for the US when you are passing through any of their borders.

It was almost five years ago that we took the same connecting flight through Miami via Costa Rica to get home. Back then, the wonderful folks at Customs and Immigration hadn't discovered the potential inconvenience of putting passengers in transit in the same, impossibly slow lines as those actually stepping foot into the country. We missed the flight and had to spend a night in Miami - and actually fight with American Airlines agents to pay for the hotel room. And no one ever even apologized once for the inconvenience.

Nothing has changed. And so once again, we were forced watch visitors get photographed, fingerprinted and mercilessly interrogated with little regard for those of us who still had to gather and re-check all our baggage and undergo security and run back a mile in the opposite direction to reach the boarding gate. It was a miracle we made the flight home. And not without a fight, lots of dirty looks from selfish travelers and a couple of minor cuts and bruises. If it weren't for a few understanding immigrants (yes, immigrants) we would have spent Easter in that God-forsaken airport. And I probably would have gotten myself arrested for threats against the State.

But it worked out - the way everything on this trip eventually did.

I am no America hater. I understand border agents have got a huge target of a country to protect and can't be worried about the travel itineraries of every last passenger. But if every other country in the world can figure out how to efficiently move passengers through an airport, maybe it's time the U.S. start taking some notes.

This way. guilty American travellers won't have to constantly feel obliged to apologize on behalf of their country every time the topic comes up.

Must get tiring after a while.