Navigating A New City with Confidence

Want to learn how to quickly familiarize yourself with new cities across the world when you travel?

New to Los Angeles?

Want to gain confidence traveling alone in new places?

This workshop is a hands-on experience – in downtown Los Angeles.

• You will discover ways to quickly learn a new city and it’s pedestrian and transportation culture.
• You will learn how you can blend in with the locals and how to make yourself appear confident, and what to do when you are lost or scared.
• You will learn about the various public transportation options in LA and we’ll even get on the subway, right the bus and the downtown dash.
• You will learn how to connect and engaged with locals and get a chance to experiment with different techniques.
• You will learn to navigate in downtown Los Angeles, discover some hidden gems for food, art and music and a bit of local history.

What the day looks like –

9:00 am

 Quick tour of Union Station
 Overview of the day’s agenda
 Metro (public transportation) Orientation
 Ride the Red Line to Grand Park and Explanation of the first Mission
 Mission #1:

At this point you will each be given a list of tasks (a mini scavenger hunt) to do on your own for the next 30-45 minutes. These tasks will be to locate a landmark, ask someone a question, learn something new, find specific item or just do something silly. Like a traditional scavenger hunt, each item will be worth point and we will award a winner after the first Mission.

** one of the goals of this workshop is to help you be more confident being alone in a new city or place, so you will be encouraged to venture out alone for part and try your hand at doing the tasks alone.

 Pershing Square: Re-group, award winner and move on to Mission #2.
 Mission #2:
Again, we will do a mini scavenger hunt for the next 30-45 minutes. This time the tasks will be a little more challenging and we’ll meet for lunch.

12:30 pm
 Lunch @ Public School 213
 Catch Downtown Dash to Union Station (back where we started the day).

3:00 pm
 Say goodbye

What to bring:
 Comfortable walking shoes
 Layered clothing, as it may warm-up throughout the day.
 A bottle of water (stay hydrated), and snacks if you need additional nourishment beyond lunch.
 Fully charged cell phone (you will be asked to download an app for the scavenger hunt part of the day)
 Credit card or cash for the metro (about $6) and lunch ($15-20), and extra spending money in case you see something you can’t live without. The Metro and our lunch spot both take credit cards.
 Your Metro card, if you have one.

What will be provided:
 A paper map of downtown Los Angeles.
 A booklet of the day’s events and a place to keep notes, etc.
 A certificate of completion.