Okay, so when we got here, we were told to keep maps with us at all times and to not travel alone. Simple enough, even logical. Did I listen to these directions… No. Why? because the little voice in my head said we could do it without a map or a buddy, as soon as things started feeling familiar-ish.

Going into my second week in Sevilla, I decided that I no longer needed a map because I knew my way home. So there I was headed home, when I realized I had been walking 4x longer than I normally do. This was the first indication that perhaps I wasn’t quite as familiar with the area as I thought I was. Shocking… not really. Sevilla isn’t a gridded city by any means. I’m pretty sure someone was drawing plans for a labyrinth way back when and someone else said “Lets make that into a city. We’ll call it Sevilla.” Another fun fact, all the streets kind of look like this…

Or this…

“That’s nice.” you might be thinking, but alas it is not. They all look a little bit the same and a little bit different at the same time. With balconies everywhere on buildings that all stand at about the same height, distinguishing one street from the other isn’t a simple task. They are also capable of looking like completely different streets if you walk down them the opposite way. (tilt your head to the left for that picture)

So there I was wondering about at an inconvenient hour taking turns that I was sure were getting me back to my home stay. This is also where I went wrong. I should have backtracked as soon as I realized what I did… but of course I didn’t do that. I was completely wrong about these turns because it takes a while to develop a sense of direction around here. I think it has something to do with the fact that the roads curve, but it seems so slight when you’re walking on them that you’re pretty much oblivious to that important little fact until after a few weeks of living here. 

All of these fun factors resulted in my standing by a large roadway (a place I had never been before and I’m sure could never find again). As I stood there, contemplating my inability to follow directions and just how uncomfortable it would be to have to sleep on a bench, I decided to check my phone one last time. It was dead, but sometimes you can get it to turn on for a couple of minutes and that’s exactly what I was hoping to do. I had no such luck. I considered asking for directions, but in yellow dim lighting everyone kind of starts to look like a mugger so I refrained from that option. Also, I felt like alerting people that I was a lost tourist, was kind of like asking them to take my wallet. We were told about 8 times to not look lost if indeed we were lost. I guess lost people get mugged more… I don’t know. Seeing as how disregarding advice was what got me into this situation, I felt compelled to follow that piece of instruction. I’m not sure how many natives of Seville stand around staring at roadways for lengthy periods of time, but I definitely would have blended with that crowd.

I eventually ended up deciding that if I kept wondering I would have to stumble upon something I recognized like Las Setas (a huge piece of architecture in the middle of Seville). I kept walking (for a long long time) taking turns here and there. On one street, I walked by a large dumpster and a piece of graffiti scribbled on the wall that surrounded a park. I stopped and stared at it. I had never, in my life, been so happy to see graffiti and a dumpster. I turned around and from that angle it all looked familiar. I had literally just passed my door. I pulled my keys from my pocket and ran to it. That was quite enough exploring for one night.

After about two more incidents (not quite as dramatic as the one described) where I got home much later than I had told my host mom I would be there, she figured it out. She would draw the straightest route possible to places on my map, before letting me go. I wasn’t going to fight her on this one. I didn’t trust my sense of direction either. And now my map of Sevilla has lines like this on it…

1. Everything looks 10x more malevolent when it’s getting dark and you’re lost

2. Don’t listen to the little voice inside your head that says “Psht maps are for chumps.” BE A CHUMP.

3. Take a buddy. Exploring (a.k.a. getting lost) is significantly less creepy when there is someone else there. OR take a cellphone that actually has a charge… otherwise you’re just holding some dead weight. 

4. Carrying a map never hurt anyone.