I was chatting up the tourists and practicing my conversational skills. I lost track of time - never a good idea on a tour! Suddenly, I remembered that I had been with a group. I got nervous and furtively made my way to the parking lot. There I made the astounding discovery that the Philharmonic buses had departed . I asked a random person there, ‘ Diga-me o que aconteceu com ônibus americano ” (Tell me what happened to the American bus) He answered, “ O grupo americano já foi embora” (The American group just left) I was frozen in panic. Forget about speaking Portuguese, I could no longer speak English. All I could do was say a four letter word over and over while it dawned on me that I not only had I missed my connection but I also had neither passport nor money. I was truly f-cked! The Brazilian tourist I had just spoken with said something I did not understand and drove me to a small administrative oƯice on the outskirts of the park. They will help me, he seemed to say. The administrator in this oƯice was dressed like a parks ranger. She had a mop of curly hair and sat with her feet on a steel desk on an old fashioned roll back chair. She did not speak one word of English.
AI generated illustration
I did my best to explain my situation to her and had recovered my composure. She listened to me intently and then leaned all the way back on her chair suddenly breaking out into unrestrained laughter. This bothered me because I was not being taken seriously at all! I was, after all, playing in a prestigious musical group. Then she got on the phone and started talking to somebody. I still remember what she said because it made me feel even worse “ Diga-me alguma coisa senhor. Que tipo de guia deixaria um bobo americano que não fala português e que também não tem dinheiro o passaporte - no meio da selva?” (Tell me something sir. What kind of tour guide would leave an American fool who doesn’t speak a word of Portuguese- who has no money or passport- in the middle of a jungle?) I didn’t like that my skills were being slighted and made a face. She amended her comment somewhat.
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online