Living in a mini barracks: my neighbor's and me

Goodevening my @crossculture community people, hope our day went well and we are all doing well?
Am @preshy007 and welcome to my blog where I will be talking about this week's prompt Culture Q #2, my neighbor's and me.

Where I am currently living now is something else. Seven flats on one compound, kids everywhere, and enough noise to make you question if peace even exists. From early morning, you will hear mothers barking orders at the kids to prepare for school,little feet running, shouting, crying and turning calm mornings into mini chaos. Then In the evening you will hear the kids shouting, playing, running around the compound,Sometimes you want to scream, but other times you just laugh because, well… that’s life here. 😅

Some of my neighbors are absolute gems. They greet you warmly, smile when they see you, and are always ready to help. These are the people who make living here feel like a community. You can joke with them, borrow salt or matches, or share a laugh over the smallest things and suddenly the chaos doesn’t seem so bad..

I can still vividly remember what happened to me during the lock down in Nigeria, hubby went to work and was held down in the office couldn't make it to come back that very night and I was very sick, the sickness became very serious around 1am Nigerian time, didn't know what to, I managed to call hubby but then there is no way he could come take me to the hospital, so I decided to just continue to endure it till in the morning all of a sudden I started hearing banging on my door and as I didn't respond they start shouting my name. Guess who? My immediate nextdoor neighbor not knowing that hubby has already waken them up with call to come rush me to hospital, thank God the there where good neighbors 🙏 and thank God they responded on time without minding the time or that they waked the up from sleep and took me to hospital, they paid the deposit of the bill,stayed with me in the hospital till when my husband was able to get to me.they acted more like a family than neighbors 👌 and am always greatful till date.

But then, of course, there’s the other side, the neighbors who test your patience, the ones that are quiet but keep to themselves, which is fine. Some are loud in ways you never expected. And then there’s that one neighbor who seems to have a permanent cloud of mystery hovering over her. Every time I try to greet her, it’s like I have become invisible. She won’t answer, she keeps her distance, and the irony is that she calls herself a pastor. Honestly, it’s hard to figure out what’s going on in her mind. At first, I tried to make sense of it, but eventually, I realized that some people just carry things we will never understand. So anytime I see her I will just shrug, smile to myself, and move on. Life is too short to let that bother me. 😅

Living in a compound like this has taught me plenty about patience, tolerance, and balance. You learn quickly that you can’t change people,you can only choose how to respond. Some neighbors will make your day; some will make you shake your head, while some will always try to push you to the wall and expect you to do your worst. well you learn when to engage, when to stay quiet, and when to just laugh at it all. The noise, the kids, the little dramas,they are part of the package. And honestly, they sometimes makes living here more interesting.

At the end of the day, this mix of sweet and challenging neighbors teaches you something important: keep your peace, laugh at the chaos, and appreciate the good people around you. Life in a compound full of different people from different backgrounds, culture, language groups and characters is not always quiet or perfect, but it’s never boring.🤣🤣🤣🤣 And really, that’s what makes it memorable.

Do you have neighbors? Are they like mine?
Will love to hear about you and your neighbors too.
Thanks for reading through.
@preshy007 love you all❤️❤️
Do have a lovely night rest