To the Editor:

In response to the guest column in the November 7 issue regarding immigration, if you live long and travel wide, you might look back on the Irish toilet experience as downright luxurious.  

Try riding the overnight train from Chang Mai to Bangkok. There is a hole in the floor of the train that goes down to the tracks. A curved metal bar to balance your behind on, if you choose to use it. In Japan they squat over a hole in the floor. A lot of toilets have no water in them, and at times you will find a bucket of water with a dipper to wash the toilet.  

Many countries do not flush paper products down the toilets. At the Folkmoot Center, they have waste bins in the toilets for those dancers that visit from those countries.  

In a fancy restaurant on Martinique in the Caribbean, there was a plank with a hole in it (similar to an outhouse) where you could not see the bottom. Tip: take a couple of plastic grocery bags and ball them up and put one in your purse and one in your carry on. They don’t take a lot of room and you will be surprised how often they come in handy.

When you travel, look well dressed. Neat, clean and well groomed. Agents will go out of their way to help you. Smile and have a little humor. Agents take a lot of abuse from the public.

Those who work in the airports around the world develop a sense of people and notice any small thing out of the ordinary. It could have been your husband’s beard, your braid, or your shoes or anything else. Sometimes they will take a passenger out of a certain line for no reason. Ask them if you can do anything to help make their job easier. 

When I return home from a foreign country (and sometimes want to kiss the ground), as our agents from customs and immigration have finished clearing me, I always say “Thank you for the job you do and keeping us Americans safe.” You might just get a smile and make their day. I worked eight years in an airport in Hawaii. Happy traveling, and a warm Aloha.

Jackie Alexander

Waynesville