tales from the bonde

At a time when I am supremely frustrated with Brazil and Brazilians, when little things irritate me and I can't fathom how people could be so rude or inconsiderate, I had a wake up call. I experienced a moment that reminded me how wonderful Brazilians can be, and how they possess a singular empathy for their fellow human beings.

I took the bonde (streetcar) to Santa Teresa like I do every Monday to teach ballet at the NGO. As usual, it was packed with about half tourists, half Cariocas. Everyone squished on, and the people who didn't fit stepped onto the railing to ride on the side of the car. There was the usual chatter of Portuguese, English, French, and German, the snapping of pictures, and the rumbling of the wheels on the tracks. As usual, the car snaked around the tracks from the station, passing over a bridge and onto the Lapa arches before going up the steep cobblestone streets of Santa Teresa.

But about halfway across the Lapa Arches, people started screaming for the bonde to stop. It shuddered to a halt, perched precariously on the bridge with nothing but a frail net between us and the pavement nearly eighteen meters below. "He hit his head!" someone yelled.

So I looked to my right, at the man directly parallel to me on the other end, standing on the side of the car. The pudgy man with glasses and a polo shirt was literally reeling, a mixture of pain, shock, and humiliation on his face. He turned his head, and blood was pouring down his neck. In real life, I haven't seen blood like that since I was a volunteer EMT, and for a moment my vision went blurry.

That's when the Brazilians leapt into action, in a way that only they do. They ushered him into the car, and an old man stood up on the outside of the car so he could sit down. A young man sitting in the row behind him unearthed a white cloth and pressed it to the injured man's head. That's when the hubbub began. "It's a gringo!" "Oh poor little thing." "What a shame!" "How horrible!" "He has to get to a hospital!" "Tell him to get off in Lapa!" "Oh my god!!!!"

The bonde started up again, and at the next stop, right at the end of the arches, people yelled for the driver to wait so the man could get off. He did, and the man behind him tossed the dirty cloth on the ground. It was completely soaked through with blood. Two street boys who hopped on saw the cloth and grimaced. "Gross!"

Then there was another flurry of excitement among the passengers. "Wait gringo!" "What hospital is closest to here?" "He should get back on!" "We can drive him to the police check point!" "Someone talk to him!"

A tourist coaxed him back onto the bonde in Spanish, and more people moved so he could sit down. Another passenger pulled out a cloth and held it to his head. I made out his face a few rows up, and I felt so terrible for him that my heart nearly exploded. I know what it's like to be a foreigner, alone in a strange land, but having to deal with a split-open head is completely unthinkable.

The bonde moved on.

An excruciating minute passed before we arrived at the next stop, where a police car is permanently stationed to prevent crime and help tourists. Everyone yelled for the man to get off, and in the meantime, the original guy who helped stop the bleeding got off too, like it was the natural thing to do. Passengers screamed at the cops, and one lazily made his way out. They yelled a cacophony of explanations, but he wasn't really paying attention. He was staring at the gash on the back of the man's head and the blood gushing down his neck. "Caralho," he exclaimed.

The young Brazilian man got in the car with the injured gringo to go with him to the hospital. The passengers yelled at the cop to take the man to the hospital. The bonde started to move. "Wait!" the cop yelled. The bonde screeched to a halt. "What happened?" The passengers explained the man had hit his head against a post on the bridge. The cop seemed satisfied, and shook his head incredulously.

The bonde moved on.

Comments

[elena]

Oi...
voce fala portugues ?
beijos,
me

[David Hong]

Amazing story and your blog is fascinating. I just got back from Brasil last week and already miss it. Keep up the good work of educating North American knuckleheads about the realities of Brasil. Boa sorte!