LOST! and other adventures in Boston

This is what I wrote in an e-mail to my friends this morning, with additions and revisions. Have a peek!

I had to get this book for my Literacy and Assessment class, and I happen to have a Borders coupon, so I thought I might as well use it. There is a Borders near the Downtown Crossing T stop, and the map tells me that I would be about two blocks away from Borders. After my lone Tuesday class ended (about 6:30), I took the T to Downtown Crossing and asked the T guy (his official name) where I should go to find this street that Borders is on. He said to go out of the exit on the right and take a left and then a right and I will see it. Great!

So I walk and walk and walk. I need to tell you guys that because I don't have a printer yet, I have the map of the area in my head, semi-memorized. So I walk for about 20 or so minutes, but I don't see it. Where is it?! I stopped outside a restaurant and asked the valet where is this street. And he said, oh, you're quite a ways from it, but if you continue going straight for about five blocks, you'll hit it. Wonderful! Thanks.

So I walk and I walk and I walk. I walked for another 20 minutes or so. Waaaay passed the five blocks, but I decided to have some faith. Well, I hit the parking lot for the aquarium. Now, I know from my semi-memorized map that I should be NOWHERE near the water or the aquarium. This is trouble. I made a left at this point so I would be walking parallel to the water and then made another left, thinking that at worst, I would just go back to where I started.

I walked and walked and I figured that it's now a good time to ask for directions .... again. I stopped by the Marriot hotel at some cutom house and asked the front desk person where I can find this street and he gave me a map (!!!!!) and highlighted it and told me to take a left and an immediate right when I go out the exit. Awesome! Thanks!

Map in hand, I go out the exit and made a left and a right. But I was standing in the middle of one of those five-street intersections ... and I was turning round and round with a map in my hand, apparently looking very befuddled because a lady in a hat stopped me and asked me what I was looking for. So I told her.

She said walk down the street where a car had stopped and to go ALL the way down until I got to Post Office Square and then to keep going. I'm supposed to see the Borders right in front of me. Yippeee! I thank her and am on my way.

I knew I was going the right way when I got the Post Office Square and saw the Borders two blocks later. It was awesome. It only took two hours of walking, four people and a map. I got back from my adventure at 10 that night, completely exhausted.

Classes are going OK so far, if a bit overwhelming. It's a lot of new information with actual, experienced teachers in the class, so it's a bit intimidating. Hopefully that feeling goes away because my classes are fascinating. For my Literacy and Assessment class (yes, the same one), I had to get a MySpace account. Am not happy that I now have MySpace. I was holding out so well! I have a feeling that class is going to be really high maintenance.

On Sunday, I explored Harvard Square with Erika's friend Dan. It was fun, if rainy. :)

On Thursday, I went to a karaoke bar with Andre and his friends and sang that Proclaimers song about 500 miles ... it was hilarious, apparently, because I was giggling through most of the song.