I met with my advisor the other day which he said we needed to do in person. So I road the max train to downtown Portland. I live an hour from Portland. I drive a big truck that takes lots of gas and is really hard to park. I don't go to the city much so it was kind of like culture shock really. I am a country girl. Not use to cities at all.
I saw alot of people with backpacks. People sleeping under bridges. People got on the street car just to get warm. Not too many people are friendly. So I smiled alot and got a straight faced look staring back at me! Which makes me laugh! Apparently, people have never seen someone smile genuinely!
I like to watch people so I just watched what they did. I had a long ride and there was nothing else to do. One man just sat and stared right through me for 15 minutes. I smiled and no response.
A gal and her friend sat next to me. She kept her hands in her pockets and stared straight ahead not saying a word for the whole ride downtown.
After I got downtown, I walked a block over and headed toward what I thought was north. Thankfully, a group of 3 sheriffs were chit chatting and I asked them how far to the street I needed. One of them said "Oh, you are going the wrong way. You need to go 12 blocks the other direction. " I was so bummed. I am directionally challenged I guess! Then one of the sheriff's said if I went a street over I could catch the streetcar and it would take me there. So I caught the streetcar just in time and went like 4 or 5 blocks and recognized Powell bookstore. I said to someone if that is Powell's then I need to get off here! People stared at me blankly and shrugged. They were no help at all.
So the sheriff's didn't tell me the truth. I was so mad. I only needed to go a couple of blocks. Not 12. I got to my appointment 6 minutes late. My advisor sits down with me and finishes everything in 20 minutes. That made me mad too. I thought to myself geez I could have done this over the phone.
So then I had to figure out how to get back to max. Since people aren't terribly friendly I got lost again! I asked a couple of people how to get there and they wouldn't even answer me. One of them was a security guy. I thought he would atleast be helpful.
A elderly lady got on the streetcar. She was kind of scary. No offense but she was short and had on tons and tons of make up she looked like a clown almost. She had a blonde wig on and on top of the blonde wig was a round box and on top of that round box was another blonde wig. The wigs were a mess and I was trying not to laugh out loud. I don't know what was up with her but she frowned something fierce the whole ride. I am not making fun of her but it was quite a site to see.
Then I met a guy not from around Portland and he helped me out. Except I didn't recall where I was suppose to get off the streetcar so I ended up going a long ways from where I was suppose to be. Finally, I told the streetcar driver I was lost and he said get off here and catch the streetcar that goes the other direction. sigh. Lost again.
I hate being lost. It reminds me of when I was a little girl and got lost in Sears. I almost peed my pants cuz I was scared! LOL!! I wasn't as scared as when I was little but it made me feel kind of sick.
So I finally got to where I was suppose to be, Oh, I ran into the guy not from there again and he said to me. What are you doing on here still. I just laughed and told him I got lost again. He was a very nice guy. Thanks for the help Mr. :)
So that was a long long morning and I hope I can find my way around again without getting lost!
I found that morning to be interesting to say the least.
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where im from, the closest city like area is like 50 miles away!
*~*K i M b U r L e E*~*
How long does it take to get there?
I am a country girl, for lack of a better word. Actually I live in one of those suburban town that is mostly farms but you can commute from. I have never lived in a city before but I thought I would be okay with it since I was going to live in Boston while I went to college. The people not talking is one of the nicer attributes of the city. People beg everywhere, even throughout the college campuses where most of the people are students with very little money. For me, the worst part is after a few weeks the cement and lack of trees become depressing. It's not normal to live surrounded by cement everyday and never see green.
~Jessica Mondillo
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/jmondillo
I don't think I could live in the city. All the hussle and bussle. Ambulances and noise. I am use to frogs and coyotes. An occasional log truck. Pretty quiet compared to the city. Thanks for commenting :)
http://trimet.org/schedules/index.htm Before I travel to a city, I always familiarize myself with the transit maps and schedules so the names of the stops are familiar, even though I've never been there. Then I can say, hey! That street is east of where I want to be! I'm going the wrong way!
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman
Thank you so much! I tried to familiarize my self with where I was going. The only thing I new was the stop I was suppose to get off at. I didn't think about how I was going to get back! I didn't even think to look at which directions different streets were. I appreciate your help very very much.
i am from the city born and raised, and I have to say, the city is great! There is so much going on so much to see. It can be very amusing to just walk around town or drive, if you have nothing else to do, especially at night. Even though a lot of the people look scary thats not always the case. In fact, you kind find a lot of interesting and nice people on the streets of cities, but there are some of those people who would rather you not be in there day.
I think it will be quite fun once I get use to it.
I live in Miami = craziness, once you get used to the big place it's much easier to drive around. But, it is true that people in cities don't say hi to anybody and behave as if they don't care about nobody else
I notice people who drive in Portland don't watch where they are going. They act as if they are the only one on the road. That is so annoying. I know not everyone is like that but there sure are alot of them that are.
Alot of people keep to themselves. I suppose I understand being in such a big place like that. But, I figure I would just smile and hopefully I don't look crazy and I brighten someones day at least for a second = )
I've lived in the suburbs most of my life and the biggest city that I've lived remotely close to was Paris, France. Now, I live about 25 minutes from Detroit. I love the city, the people, the hustle and bustle of it all. For me, there is somebody comforting about a city. I love the public transportation and the easy access to almost anything. I find it hard living away from big cities. I feel separated from the world and out of touch.
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"Most intellects do not believe in God, but they fear us just the same." - Erykah Badu
That is cool! I grew up in the city but not a busy city by any means. I never felt comfortable until I moved to the country. That is where I find my security :) Thanks for sharing.
I directionally challenged too! I have a lot of anxiety about getting lost, which is why I plan so excessively!
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman