I am currently on a cross-cultural program with the Washington Community Scholars’ Center, also known as WCSC, in Washington D.C. The story you are about to read is a little snippet of my day to day experiences, with a little twist.
The phrase, “Prepare for plan B?” This can be applied to many scenarios in life, including when you get lost in Washington D.C. on a weekend, due to construction shutdowns on certain stations in the metro system.
In a major city like this, public transportation is crucial. If you drive your personal vehicle, there are many more variables to consider: parking spots and fees, speeding tickets from unsuspected speed cameras, and most of all, traffic. But when your most crucial transportation system is down due to construction, there is more time spent planning for which bus routes to take, considering the possible chance of the bus coming early or later than the expected time (on non-peak hours, the buses come every twenty-six minutes for most places).
On the first of February, I hate to admit; I got lost in D.C.
When traveling with a group of friends or family and you get lost, you should stay in place and wait for someone to come get you. Unfortunately, not in my case. I had to get somewhere; so, it was my responsibility to make it there.
Furthermore, it was at this moment where my problems got worse. My phone’s online real-time tracker stopped updating my location, even though I was receiving excellent signals for cellular data. Without hesitation, I restarted my phone hoping it would work, in an unfamiliar location. However, it just refused to receive any signals at all.
Sometimes I wonder if we, humans, have become too reliant on technology. And the ways it simplifies life that we forget the ground basics.
With my phone not working, I looked around at my surroundings.
For the situation that day, I have been a little better prepared than most times; I pulled out the paper map with directions that I had printed just in case my phone was being unresponsive.
Without my backup plan, I have to say I might have gotten completely lost.
