People are not just people, why I live in the DR

Yesterday I was standing out on the road with a friend waiting for a guagua to take her back to town after a nice visit. . We were at the bottom of the dirt road to my house,, where there is a small country colmado/store, and afew people gather. It was very hot in the sun and we crossed the road to stand in the shade. A man came up behind us, from his house and asked if we wanted to sit down and was making his way back to his house to bring us chairs. It was really touching, but totally commonplace in his world. I looked at Pauline and said,, where else would someone come out of their house to offer two strangers a seat? I was happily reminded why I live here, and politely declined the chairs, smiling and thanking this kind man. Today I was reminded how much farther I still have to go to come close to exhibiting the same spirit of kindness. I saw two young men at the gate of my property on bicycles, and while Mormons or Seventh Day Adventists were not my first thought here in the DR I walked down to the gate and they asked for my ex boyfriend, and I curtly said he no longer lives here. So they smiled and asked for "un chin de agua". I hope my face did not show how put out I was that I would need to walk back to the house and bring them water, On my way back with two cups of cold water I was struck with my total disconnect with yesterdays event. Why would I not have offered water to two bicyclists up a dirt road on a hot day? Is that not the same as offering a chair? How rude that I have not adopted some sense of where I live and who I come in contact with. I smiled and took back dry cups,, promised to pass along the message and wished them well. I will continue to stay focused on what is important each moment of the day. Be kind to my fellow man. Live in the spirit of those whose country I inhabit.