So I found my way home every day this last week!...This is a commendable feat in light of the fact that I’ve also gotten lost almost every day this last week…Santiago is rather large and I am still getting used to the bus (we call them micros here) and metro (subway) systems.
I usually pride myself in a good sense of general direction, and despite what it may seem, this last week of getting lost has not necessarily been contrary to that. I did not “get lost” so much as…explored new territory on my way home.
Monday: Walking home from La Catolica orient campus.
Getting Lost: Took a left on Irarazzabel rather than a right. Stopped into café with free WiFi to search GoogleMaps but the internet didn’t work.
Getting Home: Went back the way I came—it turns out I had been only three blocks from my house when I made the first wrong turn.
Saving Grace: A nice soothing tea.
Tuesday: Trying to take a micro home from Humanities campus.
Getting Lost: Hopped on a random micro in what I thought was the general direction of home—it wasn’t.
Getting Home: Asked a nice lady which bus to take, she brought me to the metro station and pointed me in the right direction.
Saving Grace: Learned how to press the “stop” button on the micro and how to take a micro home from the Irarrazabel metro stop.
Wednesday: Trying to try to find an art store in Providencia.
Getting Lost: Was using a vague and crudely drawn map. Walked about a mile with no end in sight and no familiar streets. Didn’t have any money on my micro card.
Getting Home: Eventually decided to give up for the night and free-ride a micro home.
Saving Grace: Learned street names that would help me figure out bus route for next time.
I usually pride myself in a good sense of general direction, and despite what it may seem, this last week of getting lost has not necessarily been contrary to that. I did not “get lost” so much as…explored new territory on my way home.
Monday: Walking home from La Catolica orient campus.Getting Lost: Took a left on Irarazzabel rather than a right. Stopped into café with free WiFi to search GoogleMaps but the internet didn’t work.
Getting Home: Went back the way I came—it turns out I had been only three blocks from my house when I made the first wrong turn.
Saving Grace: A nice soothing tea.
Tuesday: Trying to take a micro home from Humanities campus.
Getting Lost: Hopped on a random micro in what I thought was the general direction of home—it wasn’t.
Getting Home: Asked a nice lady which bus to take, she brought me to the metro station and pointed me in the right direction.
Saving Grace: Learned how to press the “stop” button on the micro and how to take a micro home from the Irarrazabel metro stop.
Wednesday: Trying to try to find an art store in Providencia.Getting Lost: Was using a vague and crudely drawn map. Walked about a mile with no end in sight and no familiar streets. Didn’t have any money on my micro card.
Getting Home: Eventually decided to give up for the night and free-ride a micro home.
Saving Grace: Learned street names that would help me figure out bus route for next time.
Thursday: Looking for a micro to take me home from la Catolica Central metro stop.
Getting Lost: Couldn’t find a bus stop for 403 anywhere so decided to keep walking. Went the length of three metro stops without finding one
Getting Home: Decided to just take the metro to Irarrazabel and catch the micro from there.
Saving Grace: I wasn’t mugged…
Saturday: Running home from Gabrielle’s house in the evening.
Getting Lost: The map had washed off my hand (A+ for cleanliness) and apparently I missed a turn because all the intersecting roads were unfamiliar and I was pretty sure I was running too far.
Getting Home: Kept running down random largish roads until I hit a metro stop (thinking, hmmmm, I don’t live near any metro stops haha). I looked on the station map and figured out the route home from there.
Getting Lost: Couldn’t find a bus stop for 403 anywhere so decided to keep walking. Went the length of three metro stops without finding one
Getting Home: Decided to just take the metro to Irarrazabel and catch the micro from there.
Saving Grace: I wasn’t mugged…
Saturday: Running home from Gabrielle’s house in the evening.Getting Lost: The map had washed off my hand (A+ for cleanliness) and apparently I missed a turn because all the intersecting roads were unfamiliar and I was pretty sure I was running too far.
Getting Home: Kept running down random largish roads until I hit a metro stop (thinking, hmmmm, I don’t live near any metro stops haha). I looked on the station map and figured out the route home from there.
Saving Grace: Learned where Hoyts Cinema is, got an extra long work-out.
So by now I’m really good at finding my way home and I know a lot more about Santiago than I did last week. This all reminds me of the T.I/JT song Dead and Gone. “Oh, I’ve been travelling on this road too long, trying to find my way back home, the old me is dead and gone, dead and gone.”Also randomly Tolkien, “Not all those who wander are lost.”
So by now I’m really good at finding my way home and I know a lot more about Santiago than I did last week. This all reminds me of the T.I/JT song Dead and Gone. “Oh, I’ve been travelling on this road too long, trying to find my way back home, the old me is dead and gone, dead and gone.”Also randomly Tolkien, “Not all those who wander are lost.”
How can you ever find yourself if you never lose yourself?
