Walk 1: Mapping Senses
My 20 minute walk was in a new neighborhood, a new city, a new state. The new city that my entire family moved to, this mapping experience was an exploration of an unfamiliar space that will very soon become a familiar place.
I began with smell, where I found everything to have a rain soaked scent just after an all night downpour. The wet streets reminded me of the familiar scent after a rain- although unfamiliar. It was not the smell of wet sand on the beach or a desert rain, instead it was grass, trees, and dirt.
I then mapped sounds. Walking through the neighborhood listening to the lawnmowers, the hum of the a.c. units, birds chirping, bikes and runners, and every 5 seconds: a car driving by. The cars driving by constantly saturated the other sounds on my walk, distracting my focus while listening.
I came back, mapped these senses, and realized both times I was overstimulated by one thing: Rain with the smell and cars driving with the sound. I was overwhelmed, trying to take everything in of a new place that is now somewhere with extreme significance in my life.
But now I have done this walk 3 times, and I don't need google maps anymore, I can make it back to my sister's house without. How many times do I have to walk around her neighborhood until it becomes a place for me?
Hello, Sage! The way you story tell creates vivid images in my mind of the spaces you took your stroll in. It felt like I was reading an excerpt from a good book. I'm so interested in the idea that focusing on a single sense connects us to a memory from the past. In your post, that was very strongly communicated!
ReplyDeleteThis post is so honest and relatable, thank you for sharing it. I love how you described the difference between a rain-soaked scent in a new place versus what you’re used to. It really captures that feeling of disorientation and familiarity clashing. Your observation about overstimulation, first from scent, then from sound, was powerful, especially as a metaphor for adjusting to a big life change. And the way you tied it all back to slowly making your way without Google Maps was such a subtle but strong image of transition. It’s a reminder that unfamiliar places do eventually become our own, step by step.
ReplyDeleteHi Sage!
ReplyDeleteI wish I got the chance to be in a new place to do this assignment. Seeing a place with fresh eyes is something so special. I really liked how you described your sensory experiences, especially how the smell of rain and the constant cars shaped your perception of the space you were in. I also loved how your sound and smell map depicted the sounds on your sound map. The way you wrote where the sounds came from and how many times they occurred alongside your walk line was such an interesting way of showing that experience.