Resurrected: My one kiss of Carnaval...(O Atrevido)

There are not enough words to describe the intensity of the six day party that is Carnaval in Salvador. It is loud, it is intense, it is sexy, it is tiring, it is violent, it is fun, it is crazy, it is amazing and now that it is March 1st, it is officially over.....I have never been so tired in my life...literally.

One of the things you hear about Carnaval before you actually participate in it is that everyone kisses everyone and that women and men snatch each other up for a week long makeout session. The reality: Women walk on constant alert as men (mostly Brazilian) try and grab them from all angles trying to steal kisses and if they are lucky convince the woman to submit to a makeout session. Needless to say, snatching up women with force to steal a kiss is not my style, but I did get my kiss.

Saturday (the third night of Carnaval) O Chefao, two girls in our program named Shireen and Rebby and I left the main street of Carnaval to rest our feet on the beach. As we sat on the beach resting and watching the 20 or so people swimming in the ocean at around midnight, one of the girls noted that a man was pulling a girl out of the ocean in his arms. As soon as I saw that she wasn´t moving in his arms I sprinted as fast as I could down to the beach....

I got there only to find the man who pulled her out of the ocean in a complete panic. She was no longer breathing and upon checking her pulse I realized that her heart was no longer beating either. With all the crazy things i´ve done and seen, realizing that the young lady´s heart was no longer beating was the scariest moment of my life....

I yelled at the man who brought the woman out of the water to calm down and move from off of her and I quickly began to start CPR. I gave her chest compressions and performed mouth to mouth for a few seconds, which seemed like minutes only to realize that a crowd began forming and no one was calling for help. Trying to remember as much portuguese as I could I yelled to the group to get help, a doctor, a policeman, a lifeguard anything....They simply stared in disbelief at what was going on.

Luckily, Shireen and Rebby who sat up on the hill with O Chefao, heard my pleas for help and went to get police officers who were on duty on the streets above. As I sat there pumping, now scared that she might die if she didnt begin to breathe or have a pulse within the next few seconds, I put my mouth down yet again to give the girl air and she spit up into my mouth (talk about getting intimate...) which was a great sign. Much to my relief, upon my next check her pulse had returned signalling that her heart was now again beating...I put my finger in her mouth to straighten her tongue and thank god, she began to breathe.....

Within about another minute the police and a lifeguard had arrived to assist the young lady and they began calling an ambulance to escort her off. With her now breathing and with her heart now beating again, I simply walked away toward my three friends who stood on the rocks looking in the direction of the crowd which had now formed around the girl. They asked me how she was and I told them she was going to make it, and then they asked me how I was doing and I wasn´t so sure...

If you read alot of comic books or watch alot of movies you think that when someone is involved in an experience where someone´s life hangs in the balance, that when it is all over you simply feel great about yourself and walk off into the sunset. The truth of it was when it was all over I wasn´t sure if I should smile or cry, as I had never been involved in something so scary in my life. For the duration of the evening I think I was somewhere in between the two having been glad to save someone, but so scared of what would have happened if I couldn´t have. Thank goodness Shireeen and Rebby were on their feet and got help, who knows what would have happened if they didn´t get extended medical assistance.....

If mouth to mouth counts then I did get a kiss during Carnaval....one that was simultaneously the scariest and most rewarding I have ever had. That being said a kiss is a kiss...I don´t take it personal that a girl´s heart has to be stopped in order to give me one.