In the Dar es Salaam, Tanzania airport I was standing in
line to check in for a flight to Nairobi, Kenya. Father Robert Rweyemamu, the
Secretary General of the Tanzania Catholic Bishops’ Conference, came up to me
and asked if a Tanzanian Catholic Sister who is flying on an airplane for the
first time could sit next to me. I was happy to explain the seat belt, various
overhead buttons, etc. to Sister Clementia. I thought of my own experiences
doing something for the first time and the well known Swahili, East Africa
proverb: The water in a coconut shell is like an ocean to an ant. As it turned
out Clementia flew on to Washington D.C. to visit her father who was the
Tanzanian Ambassador to the United States. Later she sent me a postcard that she
arrived safely and saw snow for the first time.

    On my next trip to the United States I visited Ambassador
Rutabanzibwa in his home in Washington. After an enjoyable meal and conversation
Mrs. Rutabanzibwa insisted on walking me to my car even though it was a cold and
rainy day. She laughed in saying that Americans say good bye by staying inside
the warm house and waving to the departing visitor through the little circular
glass window in the front door. But the African custom is always to escort the
visitor part way to his or her next destination.