There are barely any street signs here. The streets are labeled maybe once every four blocks, so if I need to turn to go somewhere, I need to count how many blocks I've walked, and compare with my map what street I'm on! Today I walked 18 blocks to my friend Doug's host family's house, and it wasn't difficult, it took maybe 20 minutes, but I had to pay very close attention to what street I was on.
Luckily for me, the mountains here are in the west, just like in Colorado, so that is helping me orient myself. I'm slowly starting to learn where I am. There is a street just for walking, and a street where all the bars are, and a street with train tracks, so I'm starting to take notice of landmarks to help me.
I look like such a tourist carrying my map with me, but it's absolutely necessary for at least the first few weeks. I've marked where I live and some other people live so I can hopefully walk a lot of places here. The centro is a 25 minute walk or so, and during the day I feel safe enough to walk.
After memorizing the map, it will be time to memorize the bus system.
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