What's the Worst Thing That Can Happen?

My introduction to Tansania was jarring. After all the smiling and "Jambos" of Kenya, everyone in Tansania seemed so reserved. Although they spoke the same language (Swahili) my few words elicited no response except glares. There was a curiosity about me and when I looked away people would actually turn and stare. When I looked up they would look away. We played a kind of peekaboo game the entire time of my visit. Hours of good clean fun. The exception was my introduction to Daniel my guide and Bashir, the driver. Daniel spoke very good English after living in Chicago and Tennessee. Bashir's English was almost as good and the 2 of them helped me get to know the city and surrounding areas. One overall impression was the beauty of the women. They all had the grace and poise of ballet dancers. I'm guessing that it's the result of learning to balance heavy loads on their heads from a very early age. In addition you may see a woman balancing an extraordinary load on her head, a baby in a sling on her back, and carrying a huge bundle. As Daniel said jokingly, "The woman does all the work, the men do nothing!" In addition to the flowing graceful walk, all of the women have on vivid colorful patterned wraps that cover the head and flow to the ground. This may be all one pattern or 3 separate bold patterns with distinctive patterns and colors. No 2 dresses looked alike. It was clear that I couldn't photograph the women's fashions with their knowledge, so I tried discretely taking pictures when they walked by.......As to the worst thing that can happen ; when I arrived at the airport to leave for Russia, I had to wait for 5 hours in the un-airconditioned airport before being told that my reservations had been cancelled. And not just for this leg of the trip! All of my reservations for the entire trip going forward had been cancelled. After getting through the shock, I took a cab back to the hotel (by then it was midnight) and spent the rest of the night trying to get things straightened out. My cell phone bill is probably higher than the cost of this entire trip. Finally, sometime the next day, I found 2 people who really helped me. Michael from Global Assist from American Express was the first kind voice I heard who really seemed to want to help. He stayed on the line as he transferred me to the right Delta line. While we were waiting for them to come on the line he talked and joked with me and it made all the difference. Someone out their cared. Also, Mary Hunt at Delta was great. My original reservations took almost a week to put together, but she was able to restore everything in 30 minutes, as well as getting me to Russia on a flight that evening. I'm still getting over the fear of having all my mail forwarded to Tansania and how do I get the cats there and will they like it. But now it's time to get out and see Moscow. Счастливого пути (Happy Trails) from Comrade Marion