The Kindness of Strangers

Here I (Lenny) sit in the Atlanta airport after almost 20 hours of traveling from Tanzania. I have been traveling so long I feel a little nonchalant about this being my last leg of the journey until I am back home. Mary and I are literally continents apart right now. I believe she is currently somewhere in Asia Pacific. So amidst the chattering of teenagers behind me and lack of free wireless internet access I thought I might use this opportunity to unpack my mind a little about a cool reminder I had in Tanzania….the kindness of strangers still does exist!

I arrived in Tanzania just one short week ago. I arrived minus my luggage. To make matters worse, the very next day I was supposed to go on safari. Short of not having any luggage or toiletries I also had to contend with the thought of going on a two day safari with complete strangers in my two-days old travel dress and completely inappropriate shoes. I was already nervous about going on safari by myself and the loss of my luggage had me pretty convinced that I should just cancel the whole thing. If my mood was the only factor in the decision, I would have cancelled the whole safari idea but thankfully (although I didn’t think so at the time) some new friends had set up a reservation for me and wouldn’t hear of me cancelling because of some lost luggage.

So resigned to my fate, I managed to acquire some basic supplies at a Mr. Price (a type of convenient store), wrapped myself in my shawl/nightgown and got some a few hours of sleep. I woke up to an insanely early wake call dreading the start of a day that I just wanted to be over.
When the safari company vehicle (which had seen better days) arrived, I was greeted by the driver and a couple. My first thought- “Oh great, they’re probably on their honeymoon and I get to be Ms. Third Wheel!” I shook hands with the couple, politely introduced myself and for the next two hours, didn’t speak to anyone at all. In fact, the only sound breaking the silence inside the vehicle was the girl’s coughing, blowing of her nose, and their whispered conversation, which happened in a language I couldn’t recognize (Swedish? Dutch? Who knows!). I’ll just say the ride to the safari didn’t go a long way to convincing me that I’d made the right decision getting out of bed that day.

When I escaped from the car and arrived at the camp ground, there were more people waiting for us to begin the tour of the Ngorongoro Crater (The “Crater” as we called it, is unique to Tanzania as the only conservation area providing protection status for wildlife while allowing human habitation). And here is where my tide began to turn. A girl from Australia eagerly introduced herself to me. She, like I, was a loner on the safari. There were two guys also by themselves- one was a 20-something British guy who was hoping to learn from the trip so he could become a safari guide (he was no joke and pretty much served as the co-safari guide). The other guy was from Poland (he was only on the first day of the safari and was pretty happy to have the new couple on the trip because they spoke the same language, go figure!).

My new Aussie acquaintance proceeded to be the “Purser” of our safari. She asked questions and managed to get the whole group talking. I found out the couple with whom I drove to the campground with was also from Poland (so they were probably speaking Polish earlier). With all the talking that was now happening in the car, I found myself sharing my luggage ordeal with the group (which I’m actually glad of because I just know people were thinking, “what kind of an idiot wears a dress and fancy shoes on a safari???).. The whole van erupted in sympathy and I immediately felt bonded with them. Does misery love company? Why, yes it does!

The scenery we passed on the way to the Crater was beautiful. I began to move out of myself and couldn’t help but marvel at the spectacular nature and scenery God has gifted us with and He allowed me to experience. I was actually experiencing something that some people spend their whole lives dreaming about but never do. And I was doing it. How could I let some lost luggage take me away from being 100% committed to moment?

As I looked around and tried to take everything in, I, without even thinking about it, pulled my shawl tighter to myself to get warmer (it was cold!). The next thing I know, the Polish couple pulled a “hoodie” and a brand new scarf out of their pack and insisted I take it.

Later that evening, we all met for dinner and were introduced to some German friends of the Polish couple. I found out they were actually taking a “gap year” to volunteer for projects in Tanzania. At that point, my table had turned on to a virtual United Nations. It was great! We talked about my work, their schooling, the funny English words that are so easily mispronounced (like “Margarine”). We even spoke about the outrageous cost of malaria prescriptions in the UK compared to the USA. Somewhere in all the laughter, chatter and good fellowship of the dinner conversation, I shared that I’d packed my malaria pills in my lost luggage. In that one evening I had said, laughed, and felt more included with virtual strangers than I ever could have imagined possible.

That night, I was planning to bunk with my new Aussie acquaintance who had become without a doubt, a friend. So instead of polite night time conversation when you are just waiting for the other person to turn off their light, we had a slumber party! Of course it was not without adventure. The lights went out on us; we couldn’t figure out how to get the toilet to work, and do not even get me started on the shower I attempted to take. But in spite of that, it was one of the best nights ever.

It was the small things- like how she tucked herself so securely into the mosquito netting that she looked like a prisoner- that had me cracking up hysterically. I had just put in a movie (the benefits of having my laptop as my carry-on luggage) to lull us to sleep when there was a knock at the door. It took me a while to release myself from the mosquito netting, but when I did I found one of the German girls from dinner at the door with a week’s supply of malaria pills. She and her roommate had gone through their supply of pills and compiled all their extra ones for me in case my luggage never showed up. I was floored by their generosity (those pills cost them a lot!) and tried to refuse but they wouldn’t take no for an answer!

The generosity just continued the next day. On day two at Lake Mayanara, the Polish couple automatically handed over what they said was now “my hoodie and scarf.” By the end of that day, I knew that I hadn’t experienced the wild life of Tanzania with strangers, but with an amazing group of caring and generous individuals.

The end of day two was also the day I received a message that my luggage had been found! My safari friends? They got almost as excited about it as I did! And so…I have to coin a new phrase- “Joy loves company, too!”

On the ride back to town, I exchanged contact information and the Polish couple. Ironically enough, they confessed that they had been really nervous when the car stopped at my hotel to pick me up, as they expected to be forced to go on safari with a snotty couple on their honeymoon. I just laughed (mostly at myself) and said, “Always expect the unexpected.”

So that is my story and my lesson learned. I expected one thing- terrible awful things I should say- and instead was reminded of a basic lesson- be kind to everyone because you never know when you will be the beneficiary of the kindness of strangers. And also, lesson #2: always (ALWAYS) pack emergency clothes in your carry-on bag!

Globally yours and a shout out to Mary (wherever you are!),
Lenny