Last updated on April 12, 2020
I lived in Bangalore, India, for 2 years (2003 – 2005). During my first year, I lived in this cute single-level house. It was my first time living alone. I’d moved from living in the countryside in Ottawa, on a street with clearly marked numbers. I had no trouble finding my way home each day.
My new home in India was off the main rain, involving some twists and turns. It was one of many houses in progress, with rebar on the roof, to facilitate building on at some later date. Although the incomplete rooftop wasn’t pretty, it was handy for hanging laundry. I would also chat with my colleague and neighbor who lived in the house next door, and enjoy looking around the neighborhood. Being up high made it easy to see the layout of the area, something that I struggled with when closer to the ground.
Exploring Different Paths
Going to the school, where I worked, was no problem. I always took the same, shortest path to school, as I was always in a rush to get to work in the morning. But I decided to try different paths home so that I would learn the layout of the neighborhood. There were two main streets in Sakar Nagar, and I was comfortable with each of them. The trouble began once I got off the main streets. For several days, I would turn right and left, and go around and around in circles before I found my home. The trouble was that the marker to my street was missing, and it took me a while to establish landmarks. Many places looked the same to me.
The sign for my street was never repaired, but over time I adjusted to the new surroundings. I learned to recognize my street from different intersections. Eventually, I no longer needed street signs to find my way.
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