The night before, I had checked the address and the map, I had cross-referenced the metro map, and I had carefully planned out my route. Take the Grey Line to Moncloa then switch to the Gold Line and head on to my destination. Just a quick two and a half block walk after that - I couldn't fail!
Ha! I got to Moncloa just fine and then proceeded to the Gold Line, only to find that my train was out of order. I was a bit stymied, not having expected this particular problem, but I wasn't going to let it stall me for long. I grabbed for my subway map and tried to find an alternate route. Back onto the Grey Line and away I went.
When I got to my stop, I headed up. But I didn't know quite where I was. I had expected to surface one place but I was not there and, never having been there before, easily became disoriented. I walked for a bit looking for the road and not finding it. Instinctively I reached for my phone to check Google Maps . . . but I didn't have wi-fi there in the middle of the street. And I didn't have time to stop into a wifi cafe for a drink.
I sometimes chide my students and my own kids about their dependence on wifi, as if somehow the world couldn't run without it. But, stuck there in 95-degree heat, not knowing where I was, and having no idea at all how to get where I was going; I do sort of see their point.
In the "old days" I would have called ahead and let someone know I was coming. That person would have probably alerted me to the train being out and an alternate route would have been planned. I would have paper maps and directions written down. In a worst-case scenario, I would have written the address down on paper and could have shown it to a taxi driver.
Lesson learned! I either have to pony up the money for an international data plan ($$$) or I have to rely on my skills from the days before wifi. And, though I didn't make it to church this morning, I did get a couple of pictures along the way.
Hasta pronto,
--AnneK
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