I noticed this on the bus ride home tonight, half listening to a trio practicing their music at the back of the bus.
Up is South.
Down is North.
So when you walk up a street, in Vancouver, you are generally walking south, away from the mountains. When you are walking down a street in Vancouver, you are generally walking north, towards the mountains. Confused yet? Let me help: I do mean walk up and walk down. Remember that Vancouver is not flat.
This up is South and down is North runs counter to pretty much all I’ve understood about directions. Even looking at a map, or Google Maps, up is North and down is South, not vise versa. However, this explains why it takes me a few minutes to orient myself while walking around. It’s super easy to orient yourself in #chicago: Lake Michigan is East, and when facing it, to the right (up) is North, to the left (down) is South and West is behind you. Simple. And just like the maps.
In Vancouver, I keep thinking, while walking up a hill, that I am going North when, more than likely, I’m going South. Counter intuitive to my mental map
And I say more than likely as vertical inclines also run East-West.
When walking back to the apartment from Kits Beach, though, up the steep vertical incline that is Yew, I am heading South.
Rather interesting how the mind works, no? Scrolling up, looking up is associated with North. Scrolling down, looking down, is associated with South. East-West are either right-left or left-right depending on if you’re facing North or South. But they are either right or left, regardless of incline.
Still confused? Good. Me too.
Funny I always associated down with North for the reason that when walking North you’re walking toward the water and for some reason water is always down for me. Going down to the beach, heading down to the dock, etc., etc. Also, the street numbers increase as you go South so I’m heading up Main St. when I walk away from the mountains.
Having spent years 2-14 growing up in the flat plains of Edmonton, Alberta it was a relief to be able to navigate with such ease here —the mountains are always North!
@gmm Thanks for the comment! Ha. Yeah. I can see that. It does make a certain amount of sense, when you focus on markings like the mountains instead of whether you’re going up or down a hilly street. The more I walk around Vancouver, the more I find myself adjusting to this kind of thinking.