a one policeman town?

I don't think I really considered the immediate effects of the newspaper article. I should have put more thought into my answers, since everyone here has a subscription. It might be my imagination, but I feel like I stand out even more. For example, the policeman who directs traffic when the little kids get out of school seems to look at me differently now. Not in a scornful anti-American kind of way, mind you, but in a friendly oh-hello-there-you-are-again sort of way. I'm almost convinced that he's the only policeman in town, because he's the only one I seem to run into. I see him by the elementary school, at the town hall, in the town center on his motocyclette. And each time, he acknowledges me with a nod. It's nice to know that there's a police officer who is aware of my existence. Reassuring in a way. It's like my presence in town is official - even if I don't have my residency permit yet - since an officer of the law knows who I am.

After school today, I had to stop back by the town hall to see about the keys to the mailbox. Coincidentally, the mayor was in the room behind the counter with everyone else (including the omnipresent policeman). The mayor had asked me something before I realized he was the mayor, so then I apologized and said I hadn't presented myself properly. "Oh, we know all about you! You were in the paper!" And then, "We're working on your papers so you can stay here legally." And then he - like everyone else - started asking about the exchange.