Hailing from one of the most prosperous cities in China, I couldn’t picture a life without an accessible subway system. What I’ve discovered since coming to UCSB is something I never imagined.
When I first arrived in Santa Barbara for my freshman year, I was completely shocked by its city design. You may argue that this is how most cities in California look, but I was surprised: there are just 20 bus lines and only 5 of them pass through UCSB.
I don’t know why there are not always announcements when you are arriving at each stop and I don’t know why buses sometimes skip stops on their route. Why doesn’t the bus always stop for me, even when I pull the cord to signal?
Don’t even get me started on how much more unclear and confusing Google Maps makes it to navigate the whole system. I was shocked that this was the only available public transportation to get around locally, and moving here I was so vulnerable having to confront a messy bus system in a new city that it made things that much harder.
I went to Berkeley this summer, where I was defeated by the bus system again. Everything was working in pretty much the same way — completely a mess. I had decided to go to the cinema in Oakland one day to see a new movie. I had checked the bus schedule beforehand and planned myself a perfect day.
Unexpectedly (well maybe kind of expected), when I had reached the bus stop shown on Google Maps, it turned out to be closed due to maintenance issues. By the time I found the next stop, the bus I was supposed to take had already passed by. I was far away from my apartment at that time, and I really did not want to head back.
I made up my mind and decided to take the next bus toward my destination, but the showing I planned to go to had already started. I checked the showtimes again and discovered that the next show wasn’t for another three hours. As an organized person who always plans ahead, the pain of a disrupted schedule was akin to losing my favorite souvenir.
Sitting on the bench, waiting for the bus, weeping.
I gave myself a pep talk: “Ok, don’t cry, don’t cry. This might not be a bad thing — now you have more time to explore the community around the theater. This is your first time in Oakland. You’re gonna be fine.”
On that day, I explored all the stores on that street, and accidentally found a Japanese grocery selling my favorite snacks. Most importantly, I finally got to watch the movie and was back home before sunset. Maybe the accident was not such a bad thing after all.