Lauras Derive
February 19, 2018, by
title: Lauras-First-Derive author: ltm276 map: true derive:
- [40.716455, -73.980556]
- [40.716655, -73.983261]
- [40.718621, -73.988172]
- [40.717643, -73.988673]
- [40.718114, -73.990245]
- [40.719436, -73.991320] As this was the first time I had ever attempted to purposely get lost in New York City, this experience was both strange and interesting. My starting point was below the Williamsburg bridge. If I am being completely honest, I did not feel safe or comfortable to be in that area by myself. I was alone in an extremely unfamiliar place, and I could imagine that I appeared to be as lost and vulnerable as I felt. My first instruction was to cross the street. I did so, and then was told to follow the first animal that I see. I saw two dogs being walked by their owner on Delancey and Columbia and followed them to Broome street. I was then told to find somebody wearing a pair of red shoes. I found an older man wearing red shoes on delancey street, and made a left on delancey. After that, I was told to find a body of water, thus, I walked towards the east river. The instructions given to me in the beginning of my derive made it extremely difficult to leave the area in which I started. I found this to be extremely frustrating, as I wanted to move locations and explore more of the city than that five block radius. Next, I was told to follow the first person I see. The first person that caught my eye was an older male wearing a thick black winter coat, and I followed him up delancey street to a liquor store. For some reason, this made me feel extremely uncomfortable. The rest of my derive directed me deep into the lower east side, which I enjoyed much more than the first half of my journey. I found myself exploring orchard, rivington, broome, essex and more- all areas which I enjoy to stroll and dine. As I walked on Allen street, I notice a group tour going on across the street from where I was standing. Ironically, I felt like a true New Yorker in that moment- which is funny, since I was in the process of getting lost in New York. Just as I was beginning to enjoy my derive, I stepped in dog poop, and found myself extremely embarrassed in front of passersby. After dealing with that incident, I continued my derive and ended on a happier note, where I asked a stranger where his favorite place in New York is, and he answered “the library-“ a bar which I have ventured into numerous times.