Won't you be my neighbor?
My sister once came back from a walk here and told me that she really liked how friendly people were - and it's true, the people around here brighten my day. I'm very thankful for my friendly neighborhood. Here's a sampling - a collage, if you will :) - of some of the faces that greet me day to day:
The grandfather: This older man, who's out sweeping his sidewalk every morning, always smiles at me and says, "It is a pleasure to greet you this morning." He also does this upside down wave - which actually kind of looks like he's beckoning me - but he's not :).
The neighbor: This woman is very nice and loves to talk, but she still has not learned my name. So, as I walk along and hear someone shout 'guera' (white girl), I usually turn to find her coming up behind me :). She also travels to and from Zaachila (where I attend church) because that is where she's originally from.
The street sweeper: This man is usually out around dawn, sweeping up and down the streets in the neighborhood with his homemade broom and big metal trash can on wheels. We greet each other with a hello. One afternoon I saw him as I walked home, and he stopped me to let me know the water tank had been overflowing for hours at a house he thought I lived in. Very considerate - though it was not my house :).
The garbage men: These men greet me with an 'hola guera' when I take out my trash. I guess at some point I even told them my name, because sometimes they'll call me Laura. One morning I accidentally ignored one of them, and by the time I noticed what I'd done, he seemed rather offended. Man, garbage men can be kind of high maintenance ;-).
The laundry lady: Since I don't have a washer/dryer at my apartment, I have found a neighborhood laundrymat that I really appreciate. This woman always remembers my name, and takes better care of my clothes than I do. If I come before my clothes are dry, we talk about life - her sons who are in college, my sister who came to visit, work, weather, elections.... Tonight when some of my laundry really wasn't done, she offered to bring it over to my apartment tomorrow morning. Very kind.
The jello and flan man: On the days I go to the children's home, I walk past a man selling jello and flan to morning commuters. After a year of walking by him, we have kind of a routine conversation. He says "Hola bonita! How are you?" Then we mention the weather and wish each other a good day :).
The grandfather: This older man, who's out sweeping his sidewalk every morning, always smiles at me and says, "It is a pleasure to greet you this morning." He also does this upside down wave - which actually kind of looks like he's beckoning me - but he's not :).
The neighbor: This woman is very nice and loves to talk, but she still has not learned my name. So, as I walk along and hear someone shout 'guera' (white girl), I usually turn to find her coming up behind me :). She also travels to and from Zaachila (where I attend church) because that is where she's originally from.
The street sweeper: This man is usually out around dawn, sweeping up and down the streets in the neighborhood with his homemade broom and big metal trash can on wheels. We greet each other with a hello. One afternoon I saw him as I walked home, and he stopped me to let me know the water tank had been overflowing for hours at a house he thought I lived in. Very considerate - though it was not my house :).
The garbage men: These men greet me with an 'hola guera' when I take out my trash. I guess at some point I even told them my name, because sometimes they'll call me Laura. One morning I accidentally ignored one of them, and by the time I noticed what I'd done, he seemed rather offended. Man, garbage men can be kind of high maintenance ;-).
The laundry lady: Since I don't have a washer/dryer at my apartment, I have found a neighborhood laundrymat that I really appreciate. This woman always remembers my name, and takes better care of my clothes than I do. If I come before my clothes are dry, we talk about life - her sons who are in college, my sister who came to visit, work, weather, elections.... Tonight when some of my laundry really wasn't done, she offered to bring it over to my apartment tomorrow morning. Very kind.
The jello and flan man: On the days I go to the children's home, I walk past a man selling jello and flan to morning commuters. After a year of walking by him, we have kind of a routine conversation. He says "Hola bonita! How are you?" Then we mention the weather and wish each other a good day :).
posted by Laura @ 9:22 PM
1 Comments:
Very fun. :)
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