Tropical weather

This hurricane season has been pretty tranquil up to now. Enter tropical storm Noel.

School is cancelled for today in much of the Dominican Republic, and we'll see about tomorrow, as inches of rain fall on us. The forecast is 6-8 inches, with up to 20 in some areas. I think I've already had several inches at my house. It has been raining for two days straight now. This is the kind of rain that inevitably causes several deaths; it provokes mudslides, and people try to cross flooded roads, only to be swept away.

The banana tree in my back yard is now laying on its side. :( The bananas were only a few weeks away from being ready. I hope I can somehow prop it up till they are done. Long palm leaves litter my yard as well, and a piece of zinc roofing has appeared from somewhere, as the winds have been high.

Meanwhile, I have had a whopper of an ear infection since Friday afternoon. Ear doctors don't work on weekends, so I managed to wait till today. Of course I did not know then that the whole city would be flooded by now!

Let me mention how many of the doctors work here. This is a culture where people are relationship oriented, not time oriented. So if they have an appointment for 3, they may show up an hour or more late, and still expect to be seen. Almost no one arrives anywhere on time. So the doctors generally do it this way: everyone gets the same appointment time. Then it is first person to the office is the first seen. Exceptions are made for VIPs and friends of the doctor, of course. There could be a whole roomful of people, and you may wait for hours. On the other hand, you may go into an emergency room, and be taken in before you even fill out the forms!

A lot of phones are out, and many people have lost electricity. My friend says at her house the water is running black. I have electricity, clean water, and even internet, for which I am very thankful.