Life or Death

Today I was riding along in the very front of the tram, minding my own business and discussing with Milo how OMGHOLYCRAP we only have two and a half weeks left here before break. Things were normal - or getting back to normal, as the case may be, since classes were supposed to be starting again after two and a half weeks of nothing.

Suddenly, an old man stepped out onto the tram tracks. The driver was taken entirely by surprise - the old man was maybe two yards in front of the moving tram when he stepped out - and couldn't stop in time. Needless to say, we hit him. The windshield spiderwebbed from the impact of the man's head and shoulder, and he was pushed off to the side. The tram ground to a stop and chaos ensued. I, who was right behind the driver and had seen everything, knew exactly what had happened (Milo had his back turned and was very confused). The people farther back had no idea what was going on, but there were people yelling, people sobbing (a few women who had seen the accident), people standing up and peering out the windows, etc. I heard several shouts of "Il est mort ou quoi?" ("Is he dead or what?"). After the driver had called the secourists (EMTs), he opened the doors and we all filed out to discover that the man, miraculously, was conscious, though trapped between the platform and the tram, where there was just enough space for his legs to fit, and bleeding from the head.

Situations like this are difficult for me in France. Being trained in the basic levels of EMS, I feel some moral obligation to help out. The problem is that the language is an issue. While I may be approaching some level of fluency, I do not have the specific vocabulary that would need to be used in such a situation. I am also wary of a person's possible mistrust of a foreigner. While I have yet to really encounter anti-Americanism personally, I am aware that we are not necessarily held in the best of regards. Sure, there were other people helping this man out, and EMS was on its way, but I'd really rather not be the person who thinks "Oh, someone else will take care of it."

A little trauma for everyone's Monday. And after all that, my professor was sick and I didn't have class at all.