Okay well I am now officially in my house.
Manzana 15 # 6 Ciudad Satellite Duarte de esta ciudad de Santo Domingo Dominican Republic.
I am now officially a neighbour and people now know me.
So far- I got given cake by one neighbour, advice on my floors by another, have been visited by many including a local church to pray for me with a special service in my house and sermon on welcoming the stranger.
Now just to test whether they actually would I was leaving my house Monday night to go borrow a telephone to try to sort out my banking. I had my trusty phone card but still no land line... because the credit check is still being done.
Well as I was leaving the front gate (which was supposed to be replaced by now) got stuck again. I pulled it and it finally released very quickly and hit my toe which promptly bled everywhere.... ugggh.. at least it was night and so not all the neighbours were out.
Anyway after dripping blodd everwhere I patched it up and set off to the neighbours down the road. Church had run a bit late at his house and people were jsut leaving. Of course everyone noticed my patched up toe including a Doctor. So instead of going home with his wife, he stayed to remove my toenail. After it hurt too much he ordered some local anasthetic to be brought and stayed to perform minor surgery on my toe.
A girl returned with clean syringes on her bike, Frank my neighbour returned with anaesthetic from the doctors surgery and he removed my toenail on a plastic chair in the driveway as every one tried to keep me distracted by talking to me in rapid spanish. Frank (who is in his fifties) rode a bike in circles to keep me amused. All in all it really was a circus.... and I guess that I was the clown.
I have had lots of visitors and today I had a tetanus shot and need to have the gate fixed as well as other assorted jobs.
So that was my welcome to the neighbourhood.
Hope all of you are getting to know your enighbours in less dramatic ways.... but you know me always a drama queen.
Donna ( and the enormous bandage on her toe)
