Thinking about how I orient myself, makes me think all the way back to my childhood in Norway. I realize that
how you orient yourself changes as your environment changes. I think it also can change as you grow up and
your perception and use of your environment develops. Where I am from in
Norway, as a child you oriented yourself in regards to two things: Mjosa and
Vikingskipet. Mjosa is Norway’s largest inland lake and Vikingskipet is a famous
Olympic Arena that everyone knows. Also of course, I often oriented myself by
natural elements and landmarks like forests.
When I moved to the United States I
was 13 and had never seen a three-lane highway before. I came to live in a
small town called Dunstable about an hour outside of Boston. At first I had no
idea where anything was or what to orient myself with. As time passed the
highway and the town farms became how I oriented myself. Each farm has its own
attributes and is located in relation to different destinations.
Moving to Boston five years after
that was an even bigger adjustment. I had never really spent much time in a
city of that size before. Trying to find my way by foot was at first confusing
but then I found things like the Prudential and Newbury Street and I oriented
myself in relation to those. The Greenline also became a great tool; I began to
understand the relationship between the t-stops and their interaction with the
city. As my time in Boston increase, my list of things increases. Different
landmarks and different buildings help me understand where I am.
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