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Rio de Janeiro • What makes Rio Rio?

Wish I could tell you.

More than a week into my stay here in Brazil's bustling metropolis, I've had my share of experiences in the always captivating, afflicted host city.

Most of it has come through the bouncing seats of a converted city bus. Most of it has come at 30 or 40 or 50 mph from behind a large plate of glass. It's called the bubble. At least that's what my predecessor Michael C. Lewis and longtime Olympic vet Kurt Kragthorpe always have called it. The bubble is real. You see Rio de Janeiro — just not that up close. So your mental notes come from what transpires at the stoplights and during those dragging minutes in traffic.

On the hour-long ride from Copacabana beach to the Main Press Center, I saw two youngsters playing keep away with the soccer ball from a third participant.

I saw a man nearly walk into oncoming traffic to direct cars and buses to ... I don't know where.

There was the bearded guy wrapped tightly in a blanket, smoking what looked to be a cigarette screaming up to the gray clouds dropping rain.

There I was, on a cushy bus with Wi-Fi, filing a story about a beach volleyball match gone awry for two locals.

Even if you're covering the Olympics in Rio, the vibe isn't what's necessarily portrayed on TV. Every gold medal Michael Phelps or Katie Ledecky has won up to this point, I've missed — either because I'm recapping the events of the day or because I'm on a shuttle somewhere headed who knows where. The "Final Five" dominating women's team gymnastics? Only read recaps. On the ride back to the Barra Village last night, it was just beyond 10 p.m. local time when we passed a fast-food restaurant called Habib's. I looked up the menu. It has what you'd expect from a fast-food joint: burgers, fries, pizza, salads, etc.

Inside Habib's — the mascot is of a man with a mustache winking while wearing a fez cap — every TV flashed the familiar yellow jerseys of Brazil's national team, playing in a win-or-face shame match against Denmark. I was able to make it back to our apartment in time to watch Brazil score its first goal of the Rio Olympics. I was able to watch the Brazilians score three more times to ensure no national bellyflop would happen in the group stages.

Inside the bubble, I saw the moment an entire host nation exhaled from the off-kilter TV in the apartment of the village where we're staying.

Escaping the bubble brings its adventures, too.

After covering Park City's Devery Karz in lightweight women's rowing Tuesday, the media shuttle was running so far behind that myself and Amy Donaldson of The Deseret News high-tailed it to the nearest subway station with the assistance of two journalists from South Africa.

We had to get to men's rugby 7s in Deodoro in five hours. It was a total haul, but refreshing to be on our feet scampering in a direction we hoped was the right one. It worked out. After three subway stops and a crammed public bus ride, we made it back to the Main Press Center in time to scarf a cheeseburger before getting on the next shuttle to see more Rio de Janeiro in the bubble.

— Chris Kamrani

Twitter: @chriskamrani