I love living in Canada!

I had quite an eventful trip home and am thrilled to be back though I am already missing my little Ama bama ,and Karen of course. I was astounded by the number of checks there were at the Accra airport before I could board – 2 immigration checks, 2 stops before I could check my baggage, forms to fill, and of course the security scans and a frisking – all before a very long wait in a crowded departure lounge. I sat in my seat in the lounge when to my horror, a lady just sat herself between me and the person next to me where there was barely 8 inches of seat. I got up and found a new seat. Then, because there was no PA, there was a lot of confusion about who was to board when. This caused instant crowded line-ups, or more accurately herding as people tried to board.

Once on board, I sat next to two very interesting Dutch ladies who were returning from a trip to Burkina Faso. They told me to be sure and watch the Olympic speed skating for their friend Sven Kramer who is competing for Holland. Imagine my surprise to read about him the next day in the Edmonton Journal. Pat says we will have to find out Sven he is on. (Groan).

Shortly after takeoff the pilot announced we would be stopping in Niger for fuel as there was not enough in Accra. I found myself thinking “Niger, where is that? Do they mean Nigeria?” Niger is about an hour and a half flight time from Accra.

About the same time we arrived in Niger the pilot asked for a Dr. as we had a sick passenger. A man seated not far from me answered the call. Shortly after, there was a call for a glucometer and not long after that an announcement that an ambulance had been called. To our horror, the next announcement was that the passenger had died and arrangements were being made for him. We were a very subdued bunch of passengers after that – everyone felt terrible. After about 2 hours, we were up and on our way to Amsterdam and got in about 8:30 am – a lot of passengers had to be re-routed but thanks to a long lay over I was fine.

I used the time to scout out the airport to see what it could offer Karen and Ama on their return flight and found both a Mommy lounge and a playground plus they have McDonalds which for 4 Euros you can buy a kids meal. Amsterdam was much more sane in terms of security checks – only one point of passport checks and scanning.

Thankfully my flight to Calgary was uneventful and I was delighted to see Pat and Bo at the gate. I was struck by all the order and modern everything. Orderly lineups, courteous drivers, streetlights, clean everything. We went to Susan and John’s where Susan and Marilyn made a wonderful dinner, we watched some Superbowl and enjoyed all the kids.

The kids were delighted with their African gifts. The girls put their dresses on immediately and tried to balance their baskets on their heads.
So while I am thrilled to be home, I am so glad I joined Karen and Ama for a wonderful adventure and that I was able to help them get settled. We had some wonderful experiences and some great times. I look forward to following the rest of their adventure on the blog along with all of you.