Maps
With the usage of smartphones and GPSes becoming so popular in the modern era, the usage of tangible maps has become less efficient when traveling to different parts of the world. Many often overlook the rich history that came with the creation and usage of maps from our past. Looking at the ancient maps of Ptolemy transitioning to regional maps in the 1440s all the way up until the modern era with extremely specific icons and representations to easily navigate with maps that can fit in our pockets. However, this lost art of using a map to navigate around cities and get ones' bearings oriented was certainly one that I wanted to try while I studied abroad. This tab of the exhibit is devoted entirely to my personal collection of these maps. Florida State International Programs provided us with pop-out maps for each expedition and I made sure to markup which areas appealed most to me and I made sure to cross out the ones I managed to visit. This is where the concept of everyday writing being subjective can really be understood. Certain travelers will want to visit landmarks and locations that can be far different from the ones I choose to visit. In this way, maps allow us to mark those locations we wish to visit as well as the paths we took to get there. You can view some of those everyday writing artifacts below.
It's almost impossible to travel around London without, at some point, taking the London Underground. The London Underground, also known as The Tube, was the main mode of transportation that myself and my fellow travelers took to visit various parts of Central London. This specific map that I saved was used on one of my first weeks in London when I wanted to go visit my favorite soccer team's home stadium, Arsenal F.C.'s Emirates Stadium. To grasp where I was to go, I marked the main station that was closest to our study centre and figured out which lines I was going to take to get there. Luckily, I had to only make one switch but I made sure to save this piece of everyday writing as one of the first travel experiences I had with The Tube.
One of my favorite trips while studying abroad was our expedition to Edinburgh, Scotland. A city that combined historical landmarks and a fantastic nightlife was certainly an unforgettable experience. Some of my favorite areas to visit during this trip were the Edinburgh Castle, the Scotch Whisky Experience, and the Scottish National Gallery. I unfortunately didn't get to go to the Museum of Edinburgh on the East end of Edinburgh but with this everyday writing artifact in hand, I can hopefully visit it in the future and mark off that missing landmark on my map. I also marked off the path for a pub crawl that we took during this trip. It's always interesting to see the marked paths and remember what happened at the different points on it.
And of course, we can't talk about the London Underground above without showing my map of Central London. There are certainly a lot of spots marked off on my map, but this barely scratches the surface of what I visited. For this reason, I plan to mark off more of those locations in the near future so I can bring back those exact memories from certain locations that made my experience in London one that will be remembered for years to come.
Have you gotten the chance to travel to the UK? If so, try and look through the maps on this tab and see which locations you've visited and which ones you still plan on visiting in the future.
