I can’t believe it’s been a week since I landed in Accra. From the humidity to the bustling
traffic, these last few days have been a whirlwind. The greenery that surrounds the city has been a source of comfort, reminding me of the pine trees that decorate the Pacific Northwest. While the scenery of the country may be tranquil, the first three days of my stay were anything but.

My flight pattern seemed like a simple one: Seattle, Amsterdam, Accra. Three stops with
only two airlines, what could go wrong? Arriving at Amsterdam was relatively seamless. I mean the screen in front of my seat didn’t really work for the whole flight, but I did manage to get a whole 40 minutes of sleep on the plane- so there’s that.

Needless to say, once I boarded the plane to Accra, I was ready to make it through the
next six-hour flight and finally sleep. But then it all went wrong.

An hour prior to landing, the pilot made an announcement over the intercom. There was
a mix up at the Amsterdam airport that led to a large portion of the passengers’ bags to not make it onto the airplane. Much to my dismay, my bag was left behind, along with four other members of my program who were on the same flight.

After discovering this, we waited at the customer service counter at the airport, hoping
that someone would give us the answers that we were looking for. After two hours, we managed to get lost luggage claims and the reassurance that our bags would be there tomorrow night.

Spoiler alert- they weren’t.

We traveled back to Kotoka Airport and after an hour of waiting in a small room with almost a hundred other people that were on the flight, the luggage still hadn’t made it. Luckily, I had enough in my checked bag to last me a couple of days, but that didn’t ease the anxiousness I felt knowing that all my clothes could be lost forever.

Another full day of activities passed by and all five of us found ourselves back at the airport. The sad and familiar faces who were with us just the night before filled the room. After 40 minutes of waiting, I was pretty confident that my bags were still in Amsterdam, so I sat down on the bench and hoped that the other members of my program would somehow get theirs.

“Mercedes!” someone yelled.

I looked up and saw my luggage. The relief I felt was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. I could finally take a shower using my own soap! Three other members of my group got their bags, and the final member of our “luggagegate group” received his things the following day. We were all ready to take on Accra with our bags in tow.

While the beginning of my trip may have been a bit stressful, I am so excited to see what these next five weeks have in store!