While reading Slate.com the other day I came across a series of articles about signage and how the public interacts with various signs in airports, train station, and subways. The second article in the series discusses Penn Station in NYC and its mismatched signage, which leaves visitors scratching their heads while locals stroll by. Like most men, I believe that I cannot ever be lost and that my internal cartographer makes Google maps look like a child’s crayon drawing, but the truth is when studying abroad, I too needed a little help in the orientation department. Getting around a new city is very tough, and getting around a foreign city is even more difficult, so here are a few tips to help you more easily navigate your host city.
Make sure your internal map is more accurate than this one!
Subway Maps:
Subways, metros, and undergrounds can be confusing for one simple reason: you don’t see where you’re going. There’s no point of reference for distance, so when you emerge from a station you could be 100 yards or 10 miles from the last station; you really don’t know for sure. To all to this, make sure to remember that subway maps are never drawn to scale. Some subway stops are within easy walking distance, while others are not. Keep this in mind when going from station to station.
City Maps:
City maps are an excellent idea when you’re first orientating yourself. At home, someone in the group invariably has an iPhone and access to Google Maps, but there are issues with this when abroad. Google Maps has included many of the biggest cities, but some areas abroad are still without much detail. No one wants to walk around looking like a tourist, but the fact is you will need that map at first. It’s good to memorize a general layout of the city and some of the more prominent street names. If you need to take a map along, try to look for a pocket sized map, like the famed A-Z London. Alternatively, you could print out a small map for the section of the city you’re visiting.
Getting Lost:
Common wisdom to “get lost” in a certain area of town can backfire and be unnecessarily stressful, especially if you’re still nervous about your language ability. On the other hand, one does need to explore to really see a city, so take it slowly based on your own abilities. If you have a poor directional sense, definitely explore as much as you feel comfortable rather than getting really lost.
Getting to know your city takes time and patience so take it slowly and soon you’ll be moving about like a local.
