Google Maps knows best… (or does it?)

You may know that I love maps, I love to explore, and I love shortcuts.   This past Tuesday, the love of these three things coalesced and I decided to explore the shortest way back to my new apartment from work. I had noticed that the shortest way between home and work is like the hypotenuse of a right triangle, while I had been wasting all kinds of time by walking the long way… I had further noticed that this direct way to & from work was inconveniently obscured on my Tirana city map by the map’s legend.  Very inconsiderate of the map makers, I thought!!  So Google Maps came to the rescue, and I zoomed in on the labyrinth of streets and planned my course.  I just jotted down, “Left on XYZ street; go 2 blocks, curve right, then left, then take a right on ABC street… ,“ etc.  It looked so simple!  Hmmm… has Google Maps ever let you down?  Has your GPS?  Actually, in this case, I honestly have to say that Google Maps didn’t, in the literal sense, really deceive me.  It’s just that the streets that looked so innocuous and… street-like… were something else entirely.  This short cut, which I would have expected to take somewhat less than 20 minutes, took me more like 45… and for awhile, I thought I was lost in this maze of backwater, “Tirana ghetto” alleys, overgrown with weeds and littered with broken cobble stones… some of the “streets” were so narrow and treacherous that – I kid you not – they could not possibly be negotiated by any motorized vehicle save a four-wheel drive Smart car… The streets were so poorly marked, that I had to back track more than once and my heart was in my throat for fear I was hopelessly lost in this urban jungle, until I finally found my way to the main thoroughfare that I daily take to work. Whew!

Before I close this looooong post (several posts actually), I need to reassure you (lest you are convinced otherwise) that I really am working!!  Yes, indeed – Monday-Friday, from about 8:30 to 5:30, I am fulfilling my responsibilities as an Embassy intern.  My boss has been getting better at giving me things to do, and I’m kind of liking being in the Regional Security Office.  It’s an interesting place.  I’ve been working on various projects, getting to see how other offices work (Pol/Econ, Public Affairs, etc.).  There are three other interns besides me; two are Albanian (heritage), so have the advantage of speaking Albanian – lucky them!  Another is Russian (actually, Kazakhstani), so she and I have fun talking together.  Anya and I are going to Macedonia together this weekend!  In another instance of “let’s do what Google Maps says,” I strongly considered renting a car and driving what appeared to be the logical, direct way from Tirana to Skopje, Macedonia.  Thankfully, the Spieckers and Embassy people talked sense into me and I learned that those squiggly lines that look deceptively like roads are really almost impassable and that it probably wasn’t the best idea for me to rent a car and hurtle down some of the very same roads that we took to get to Greece.  So we thought about taking a furgon… one of those little minibuses… but ended up finding a driver who could take us there for a bit more money and a lot more comfort and peace of mind.  Oh – and let me explain why we’re going to Macedonia?  You may remember that awhile back, I worked part time for a bakery which went out of business in 2008. Well, the owner and his wife are now working in Macedonia, and have invited me to visit them!  Small world.  Ok, all for now.