Adapting to Navigating

Things I adapted to in Vienna: 

-Ordering all my food in German

-Navigating all the public transportation

-Grocery shopping

-they will not bag your stuff

-people will bump into you all the time

-you absolutely have to remember to get a barcode for your produce

-Living with a stranger who doesn't speak English as well as they speak German

-The dorm washing machines (they were very confusing)

-Getting home at night (had to plan not to walk by myself)

-identifying which stores were and were not for tourists

-not having internet all the time (I really missed my smartphone) 

-Getting through crowds FAST (I learned to hate Stephansplatz) 

I think the most difficult thing to adapt to was going to new places by myself. Usually, I can use my GPS to get me places, but in Vienna I was reliant on a map and the kindness of other people when I asked for directions. I did get pointed in the wrong direction a few times, but I never got seriously lost and by the end of the month I felt very confident in my ability to find things throughout the city. Mostly, I just had to force myself out of my comfort zone and commit to going somewhere new. Once you're out the door, you have to keep going, so the biggest challenge was getting myself to get out of the dorm during my free time. 

Now though, I feel that if I visited a new city, I would be able to find my way around with a map and would be able to discover and learn about the city's landmarks and culture on my own.