Aren't You the Maps Department?

Tammi out in the frozen Canadian prairie (brrrrr....) tagged us with this memoir meme so we thought we would incorporate in to our post. The question is, "What would your 6 word memoir be?" Ours is:




Ever since we arrived in Nassau we have been struggling with finding our way around. The only map you can get your hands on is a tourist map, which stops once you get off a major road, and the only directions you can get from Bahamians include vague landmarks and lots of hand gestures. We guess it's because the Island is so small everyone knows where everything is anyway so no one really knows or cares about the names of the streets. Mark cares, Mark cares a great deal. In the US, even if we had detailed mapquest directions, Mark had to have a map in hand.

Imagine Mark's delirious excitement when he saw a very detailed street map (surveyors map) on the wall in a store. He asked where he could get one and was told the Department of Lands and Surveys (or... the map department). Well guess what we happened to accidentally drive past today?

We walked in to the building and right there on the wall in front of us was the giant street map, including every nook and cranny of Nassau. Brilliant! The conversation went something like this:

Mark: "Hi - Do you sell maps?"

Maps Guy: "Yes we do Sir"

Mark: "I would like to buy a street map like that" (points to the map on the wall)

Maps Guy: "Oh we don't have that map. You have to go to Parliamentary for that map."

Mark: "OK - Can you tell me that is?"

Maps Guy: "Farrington Street - you know where that is?"

Mark: "No actually but could you just point it out to me on that map?"

Maps Guy: (shakes his head, picks up a book called "Nassau Street Maps" which he begins slapping against his hand) "You know over the hill?"

Mark: "Yes"

Maps Guy: "You know McDonalds?"

Mark: "No"

Maps Guy: "You know Public Works Dept."

Mark: "No but you could show me on that map?"

Customer at Counter: "You know the graveyard - with all the tombstones?"

Mark: "No"

Maps Guy: (slightly irritated) "What do you know?"

Lisa: (she can't help getting involved) "Isn't that a street map book you have in your hands? Can we buy that?"

Maps Guy: "No - we don't sell that" (calls over his colleague) "These people are trying to get to Parliamentary"

Lisa: "Can you show us in that book?" (Maps guy ignores her and continues looking at colleague)

Colleague: "You know College of Bahamas?"

Lisa: "Yeah - I've seen that!" (Mark shoots her a look)

Mark: "Aren't you the map department?"

There was silence for a few minutes.

The phone rings and the Maps Guy puts down his street map book and turns around to answer it. Mark quickly picks up the book - looks up Farrington Street and we quickly exit.