"I've always relied on the kindness of strangers...."

This week my cultural narrative is about unity. As many of my peers have mentioned in their cultural narratives, Parisians are wrongly accused of acting stuffy and snobbish towards others.  Rudeness may occur in some situations, but this is a truth anywhere you travel. When push comes to shove you can usually count on the kindness of strangers.

While shopping around the Bastille earlier this week we were observing an old man crossing the street. He was dressed very nicely; hat, suit coat, dress shoes. He was carrying a small bag of groceries and taking the tiniest steps I have ever seen. I was initially worried he wouldn’t even make it across the stretch of road before the walk sign turned. He seemed to be getting along fine, albeit slowly.

We stepped into a shop for about 10 minutes and upon our exit we noticed the old man just outside the shop. He had fallen backwards, hitting his head on the ground. All the change had fallen out of his pockets and he had lost his hat. We ran over to help him up; he had a severely blank stare in his eyes. Not only were we American strangers to him, but he could have certainly had a concussion. The man was not entirely read to sit up, and he rested his head on one of our bags. He wasn’t speaking, just staring, wide-eyed, and squeezing our hands tightly.

Soon some French women ran up and began asking him questions. Another woman ran out to give him a bottle of water. Some men came along and lifted him up, and an owner of a boutique brought out a chair for him to sit on. The fall of this gentleman had attracted people from every corner of the street. They were all offering everything they could, and working together to make sure an ambulance could be arranged and that he had all his belongings.

Everyone was speaking in frenzied French, running around making sure the man was all right. We couldn’t say much to these people and it was obvious we were tourists, but everyone was smiling to each other. One of the men ushered me off when I couldn’t help any longer, but it was in an expression of thanks. Two of the women rested their hands on my shoulder and smiled when I caught their eye.

This was a true moment of unification. It did not matter what language we spoke, what age we were, or where we were from. In a crisis all you can do is extend help and hospitality to whoever needs it. I feel lucky to have united with others in this situation and to have helped someone in need, however small my role was.