Getting lost

 Dear Blog, 

There is a beauty in getting lost. 

A certain gripe I have with Eugene, Oregon, is that the streets are numbered. It takes the confusion but also excitement out of navigation. Though very convenient, it makes one allowed to not be aware of what is around them, because they can rely on the numbers. "Oh I'm on East 17th, well I only need to cross 2 streets to get to East 19th." You can never get lost in Eugene. All you need to do is walk up a street far enough and you will find a number. And it is so sad. 

I love getting lost. I love walking aimlessly, not knowing where I am, not knowing how to get back. You take everything into account when you are lost. The graffiti on garbage cans, the displays in clothing stores, the colors of the shutters and windowpanes. We pay attention because we must. I wish to live in a place where when you ask for directions they tell you to turn at a certain landmark or weird looking tree instead of streets names and numbers. 

Today I got very lost on my way back from getting a sandwich during our 40 minute lunch break. I went out to Nuovo Cafe Grecco, a good "bar" aka cafe which sells relatively cheap and very good sandwiches. After I got my sandwich I set out on what I thought was the right way. It was not. I ended up hopping from random alleyway to alleyway, then I passed the back of the Duomo and I knew...I was in the wrong place.

So I went the other way. Unbeknownst to me, it was also the wrong way. I walked another 8 minutes in the complete wrong direction, scanning my surroundings for anything landmark that I knew. I was determined to get back to my class on my own devices. And by my own devices, I mean no devices. But the clock ticked and it started getting dangerously closer to 14:00 (2p), which was the time of my class. And I started getting worried. 

I pulled out my phone, checked my map, I was 17 minutes away. JESUS! I had not been 17 minutes away from anything this whole trip. So I hauled major ass to my class, half eaten sandwich in hand, skipping and hopping on the cobblestone so I wouldn't be late to my wine marketing class. 

I made it in 13 minutes, probably because of all the skipping. Downed 2 cups of water, finished my sandwich, and sat down for class. I can't wait to get lost again.