I have no sense of orientation at all. I can get lost in places and streets that I know for years.North,south ,east ,west tell absolutely nothing to me.When I go into town I still get lost if I don’t do my usual route. Never mind if I take the longest way,if it is the one I know it is fine because I know,at the end,I will get there.I am quite hopeless with maps too.Once I know from where to start I am ok but the starting point,locating myself in the map has always been a challenge.I remember a holiday in Spain.I was in my early twenties I couldn’t understand where I was exactly so I asked a local to show me in the map where I was and witch direction I had to take and for the first time I thought I had a clue about how to use a map. It seems easy peasy,I walked around Madrid all day without getting lost. Eventually I learned the trick and got my way around papers map,I thought. No,not really,the following day ,that I had to place myself in the map and decide witch direction to take,all on my own,I was back to square one. For years when travelling I relied on good souls I was asking for directions .Much easier then maps and,for me,much more effective.When I graduated and I moved to Milan to look for a job, I started to be called for job interviews, in different part of the city.I had to consult a map ,again. This time was even more complicated as I had to find the addresses through the map but,also,find the right metro or tram route to take to go where I had to be. I was dealing with multiple maps at one time. It was scary and confusing so I elaborated a strategy.I was checking the maps at home,find the address,find the way to get there and wrote everything down in a piece of paper that I was consulting on the way.It does sound like something that only someone with a very low intelligence would do,I know,but it worked. My then boyfriend ,now husband,was living in Milan for 2 years already and knew the city well enough.Obviously I never asked him for help with the maps as I knew I would get,help for sure,but also a very patronising look and tone that my proud and dignity refused to deal with. Only thing I asked him,it was the timing:like,how long,roughly,to go from A to B, so to be sure I gave myself enough time for my journey.Thankfully now things have changed. No ,I didn’t learn to use a map properly but I did learn to use Googgle Map!!!!!

I was actually doubtful at the beginning because I didn’t have really good experiences with the ” sat nav” in the car but under my husband pressure I started to use it.To me,best thing ever invented. I don’t ask for directions to anyone and I always know where I am in the map. I also discovered that it can find whatever you want near by in case of need.One day going into town I realised I was running out of petrol( it does happen to me…….I hate doing petrol,not for the action itself but because I actually hate spending money in petrol!)so I rang my husband ,as he drive this way nearly every morning ,to ask him if he knew if there was a petrol station near by and he said “check on google map”.I did. I was delighted with the new discover and amazed by what google map can do : me and google map together know no limits .Only thing sometimes it does bother me is the “voice”…….no,not the voice itself.She a very nice lady with a cute American accent ,the way she can be a bit annoying on repeating multiple times when you have to turn like you are death or are an idiot.I sometimes do get upset with her but I understand it is her job.