Lost in Alcala

Well the inevitable has happened and I got lost alone in Alcala, and after barely more than 24 hours! I feel like that must be a new record or something. After a long day of orientation and touring Alcala and Madrid, some of the other students from CSU and I decided to go out for tapas and gelato. We had a great time (partly because we agreed to allow ourselves to speak in English until Monday) and decided to head home around 11. The two girls I was with are staying only a few blocks from each other, so they walked in the opposite direction. I caught bus #3 as my host family directed, and rode it for about ten minutes until I thought I found my stop. Of course, I hadn't. So I decided to walk a bit further, thinking I was only a few blocks from home. Of course, I wasn't. Then I decided to wait for another bus, only to have two pass by me without even slowing down. I retraced my steps, found an earlier bus stop and finally got one to stop, thinking that soon enough I'd see my stop and get off there. Of course, I didn't. I ended up near the hospital and decided to get off there assuming they'd have a pay phone. Luckily, this time I was right and I called for a taxi. After waiting for about fifteen minutes, a taxi showed up, but this couple jumped into it before I had a chance to even get close. Then another taxi showed up, but wouldn't let me get in because another woman had called for it. Finally, my taxi arrived (or at least a taxi that would let me get in) and I finally found my way home.

Strangely, I feel a bit better now that I've gotten lost. To be honest, I was freaking out at the time, but now that I'm home safe I feel better about it. Getting lost isn't so bad as long as you keep your cool and have enough money to pay for a taxi, and I'm glad I've done it once so maybe it won't be so bad next time. Or maybe my logic is just off-kilter because I'm jet-lagged and culture shocked out of my mind. So I'll take this as my cue to go to sleep, I'll write more about my other (more pleasant) experiences soon!