Monday, January 14, 2013

a country girl on public transit

i had a hard time deciding if i should bring a car to boston. i knew i wouldn't need it to get to school every day, no parking and crazy drivers, but what about church that can quickly become a 2-3 times a week event, or just exploring the area (which i plan to do a lot of)? so i'm in a trial period of seeing if i can survive without it. if my first day is any indication, better get that thing shipped out here asap.

thursday and friday i had orientation for school. wednesday was spent unpacking and figuring out the bus system. i had every possible route to school figured out. adjusting to it taking me an hour to get anywhere but that's beside the point. what i didn't devote as much time to was figuring out how to get home. i figured i'd just do the same thing but in reverse. was that naive of me?

so there i was on my way home after orientation, about 6:30. i'd bought a month bus/subway pass that morning that i was protecting with my life. rode the green line to the red line, just missed my regular bus connection but there's another bus in thirty minutes that's a little different route but i could handle it. i couldn't handle it. so worried about missing my bus stop, all i focused on was my street, pleasant street. as soon as i heard it i jumped up and exited the bus. by this time it was about 7:45 and dark. i had to dress business casual for school so yep i was in heals to top it off. and i had no clue where i was. i pulled out my phone multiple times trying to see where i'd gone wrong and figure out how to get home. an hour later, after going the wrong direction, twice, wondering why there weren't any sidewalks along the busy street, being grateful no one knows me to know i was completely in the wrong place, and praying the guy running behind me would just get up the guts to pass me and not kill me in the process, i made it home. my feet were dying. and my landlady and roommates got so upset with me for not calling. but you better believe i know my neighborhood now.

collecting my things from my first day at school, i realized, "where's my bus pass?!" i searched hi and low. every pocket. three times. somewhere in my exit from the bus to making it home, i'm assuming one of the multiple times i pulled out my phone to check a map, i must have pulled it out. and lost it. a perfect ending to all lessons needed to learn for a first timer on public transit.

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