So on Monday June 20 I packed up my bags and my mom and brother drove me through infuriating NYC traffic to the Newark airport. I arrived there at 5pm, with plenty of time before my 8pm flight. The check in counter hadn't even opened yet. I waited in line, triple checking my bags for the essentials: passport, ticket #, yellow fever card, phone, camera (chargers)...I got to the counter and handed the woman my papers. She paused for a minute then calmly explained, "you've missed your flight, it was at 8 o'clock this morning, so I'll see what I can do, please step over here". I was stunned. Frozen to the spot. It is one of the more disorienting experiences to think that after having prepared yourself mentally for a long flight and journey to a foriegn land, to suddenly find out that you won't be going anywhere anytime soon. This was the case for me, because the next Virgin Airline employee explained that there was not another flight to London/Accra until Thursday. THURSDAY?! I've heard of delays, cancellations, re-schedules, but it was always counted in hours, not days. Still not fully believing that this was my only option, I nodded at him to book me on the Thursday morning flight. I pleaded with the employee a few times but after being told my only other option was to pay $3,000 to book a brand new ticket on another airline, I accepted it.
I shamefully emailed the non profit about my mistake and that I would not be arriving for several days. I felt so bad and embarrassed, here I am, known as a traveler, and I can't even make the flight. The confusion had been due to the fact that the USA uses 12 hour time and the rest of the world 24. For some reason I had seen 8 and assumed PM although my arrival time was listed as 22:00. I didn't want this to reflect poorly on me and make them worry that they had invited an incompetent intern.
I called my family to come pick me up. They were already through the worst of the traffic and wouldn't turn around to sit for hours again. Understandable. I'd have to take the bus with my bags into NYC and then switch to a train back to CT. Before considering a way home I first needed to: charge my cell phone, use the bathroom, and eat, as my headache had increased after all of this stress. I parked myself on the floor with my bags and plugged in my phone. My boyfriend assured me that this was just a mistake, and reminded me that circumstances like this are part of the whole experience of traveling. He cheered me up by sharing a story about how he missed a flight while actually sitting at the gate, I was able to laugh at the whole situation. I then had an epiphany and remembered that one of my best friends was flying back home to New Jersey that very day, most likely to the Newark airport! I called her and managed to catch her while on layover from California. She was getting in at midnight and I could stay with her. I agreed and settled in the food court with my computer for awhile, watching TV shows and eating. Five hours in the airport isn't much all things considered so I entertained myself. The most annoying part of traveling alone is having to bring all of your suitcases into the bathroom stall with you. Fortunately my bag had wheels and I could fit it with me in the handicap stall. My friend arrived late that night and I spent the next few days at her house just relaxing with her and her family. It was a much needed rest after all because I had just finished driving across the country the week before and had been too exhausted to arrive in a new country anyway.
Thursday morning I headed to the airport and arrived at 5AM, again 3 hours before my flight. I was checked in and through security by 5:30 and watched the news until boarding time. There was a huge group of Indian youth also on my plane so I tried to listen for words I recognized in Hindi, and laughed to myself about their souvenir sweatshirts that said "New Jersey".
The flight was unremarkable I slept for the first half and watched the most recent Harry Potter movie. I had a quick and easy transition in London to the second flight. I was one of 5 people going who were obviously not Ghanian, which I found slightly intimidating but also exciting. The second flight was equally uneventful, but I got my first exposure to the languages and culture of the country.
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