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"Getting lost" Bard's Hall Entry #7 June 2024

For

FORUM

The Bard's Hall Contest  (13+) DECEMBER is HOLIDAY RUSH: Shape Poetry Prompt! #981150 by SantaBee

and
SantaBee and Ẃeβ࿚ẂỉԎḈĥmas

Getting lost can be frustrating when one is in a hurry. Otherwise, it can be delightful. One sees what one didn't expect.

I wasn't lost in Paris. I took a photo of the Eiffel Tower from the Obélisque ... I wasn't about to walk that far. True... I was just wandering around. That's what I do.

I wasn't lost in Pest either. I walked from the bus station to my hostel. I saw a homeless encampment under the highway ramp and stopped for roasted chestnuts. Not lost.

When I worked I knew alternative routes home in case the roads were blocked by snow or traffic. I learned to love back-roads. I was never "lost" for long.

In Bremen... I was lost. But I managed to see the Big Brick Elephant. Even took a picture. On my wanderings back... I walked through a very pleasant neighborhood thinking, I could live here. I never felt I was at risk. All I needed to do was say "Roland" or "Musikanten". Both are in the center and it's easy to orientate oneself from there.

Costa Rica? Don't ask directions! No one knows nor can they explain. Most people are helpful but "take a lazy left at the old church that burnt down 30 years ago" doesn't really help. Ticos know a place if they have been there... if not? Better to ask a tourist. Local police tend to be out-of-towners.

Do you know the way to San José? Find the local bus station and ask. But be aware... there's more than one San José in Costa Rica. I've lived in the Big One.

Nope. I'm seldom afraid of getting lost.



~275 words

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