Aah, google maps. Sometimes I think you’re trying to kill me.
I’ve learned a lot since coming to Athabasca – how to cover court, that when there’s only two grocery stores in a town the avocados are never going to be ripe – this weekend, I learned to never entirely my phone's navigation.
Coming back from Science Outreach Athabasca’s (fantastic) programs, I figured I could just google my way to Athabasca from Narrow Lake. After all, maps’ directions only got me a little lost coming there. I’d get out eventually.
The first road I drive? Gated and padlocked ten minutes down. The second? Not actually a road. And maps kept changing its mind on which direction to go. Eventually, I’d been driving around backroads for half an hour. it was after midnight and I had no service. I thought I'd be sleeping in my car.
Fortunately, I wandered by a campground some men were having a fire in.
Clutching keys between my knuckles and with last week’s horror story of assault in the UK running through my mind, I approached the three men and asked for directions.
I admitted I was lost in the woods and had no idea where the nearest other person was. I might as well have cast myself on one of my roommate's murder analysis shows.
The men happily provided them, of course. And they were good directions. I made it back to Athabasca with enough time for me to make supper before falling asleep.
Funny enough, they told me they were worried at first that I was coming to attack them.
It wasn’t the first time I got lost that week. Or even that day. Thankfully, every time it happened I was either able to figure it out or I ran into a helpful person who somehow guessed I had no idea where I was. In true small-town Alberta fashion, people have helped me out every time I needed it.
Out in Halifax, the people pride themselves for being friendly. I assume what they must mean is that they're friendlier than the Torontonians that flood their schools and bars every September. Maybe. I never noticed people in Ontario being especially rude.
But there's something about a small towns that can make the people friendlier when you're in need than even those Haligonians.
Thank you very much for that.
