Villager travels to Africa

Bill Johnson gave a slide show presentation to his fellow Rotarians of the Scenic 7 club on his recent trip to Africa.
Johnson traveled to Tanzania last October. He said he was concerned about finding his way around the Atlanta airport but serendipity had a hold on him and when he looked up there was his daughter-in-law, a flight attendant with knowledge of the airport. She showed him where he needed to go.
He said his luggage was lost in Amsterdam. He was given a $500 allowance to purchase some clothes to get him through. He said a fellow traveler, a South African woman, on the safari lost her luggage, too. They discovered they had bought three matching outfits. His luggage caught up with him about 20 miles into the bush in Kilimanjaro.
Tanzania is a central East African nation bordered by Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique. It is also bordered by the Indian Ocean. The people of Tanzania are Swahili.
Kilimanjaro is one of 26 regions in Tanzania. Johnson and all of the members of the safari were armed with cameras to take pictures of the abundant wildlife, natives and scenery. The slide show presentation was put together by the safari director. There were gorgeous pictures of an albino zebra, giraffes, lions, chetahs, hyenas, elephants, a black rhino and much, much more.
There were dozens of pictures of exotic birds with colorful plumage. The plethora of bird pictures seemed to vex Johnson. He preferred the larger wildlife.
A few pictures showed the dining arrangements for the safari members. There were long tables decked in fine linens with goblets and china in the middle of the open bush. Johnson added the tents had wooden floors and ceramic toilets.
In addition to seeing the abundant wildlife the members of the safari visited a Swahili school. The tour company presented the school with a desk. The students were very excited about the new desk.
The safari also went to a local market to shop with natives.
A group of Swahili men demonstrated their dancing abilities. They also showed safari members how to jump and throw spears.
In the Swahili culture the women are the ones that build their homes. The women are always working. It is not unusual to see a woman with a large jug of water on her head walking 20 miles back home from the community well.
Johnson was impressed by the four drivers chauffeuring the 21 safari members. He said they were highly intelligent and absolutely unflappable in their knowledge of their country.
The safari was two weeks and cost about $15,000. Well worth it as far as Johnson was concerned.