It was Friday June 21st when I was on my way to the airport in Portland, OR to begin the journey of a lifetime. I drove to the airport with my family, and my girlfriend met us there to also say her goodbyes. I was in a frantic rush to get everything situated at the airport because we had arrived late due to traffic. While in the lobby getting a lecture from my father about how to secure my important documents while traveling internationally, I see my girlfriend come down the escalator with around 4 or 5 Safeway grocery bags full of food for my trip. I must say it was a funny sight to see. Once I was able to pack the last minute food that arrived I was ready to go, and said my goodbyes to everyone, some which were harder than I thought they would be. Time began to move faster and faster as I waited in the long security line, but I thought I should be fine because my flight was not scheduled to leave for another 30 min at 12:20pm. Upon reaching my gate I see a departure statues talking about Chicago, Illinois on the screen. I was shocked, immediately looking at my ticket to check to see if I’m at the right gate. So I went up to speak with the receptionist just at about 12:00pm, and they told me my flight took off without me, and that they tried to page me. I was in shock, how could a flight leave 20 minutes early I asked myself and the receptionist. I don’t remember the conversation very well, but I can say that it was a heated argument, and the receptionist was not helpful at all. I didn’t know what else to do at that point so I walked for a few minutes. I couldn’t believe what was happening to me, did I just miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime? After receiving numerous scholarships to go on this trip, to where I would be going completely free, it was too good to be true. I felt as if god was trying to teach me some type of lesson and I went into deep thought, later turning into anger. My girlfriend came back and helped me calm down, and then we went to the American Airlines desk at the front of the airport where I spoke to a woman who saved my life by rescheduling my entire flight for free. I felt so blessed to be given the opportunity back. After getting that situation figured out, my girlfriend gave me a ride home, and when I reached home my mother and sister didn’t know what happen, but when they saw me they started laughing hysterically, assuming I missed my flight because I was with my girlfriend. The next day I woke up at 4am, and made sure I got to my flight a couple of hours ahead of time, so I would not face the same fate that I did the previous day. After being on two of the longest flights in my life, and being in the biggest airport I’ve ever seen (London, Heath row) I finally reached Africa. I was in amazement; I finally made it back to the “mother land”. The airport in Ghana is very similar to Jamaica’s airport, in that is doesn’t have much funding and is unorganized. If I thought all the problems were done, I was wrong, I later found out that neither of my 50 pound bags had even made it to Ghana. It was literally one thin g after the other, but I accepted the fact, and then drove home with Lesslie and Doc. When I reached the “Real World Ghana” house, I was welcomed with a game of charades by my colleagues. At that point I could tell this was going to be an interesting and amusing trip.