just so we're clear,

when i say i've been to some location (usually a city) or that i "know" a place or even that i've lived in it, that does not even remotely indicate that i know how to describe where it was i went or the direction i travelled or the orientation of my neighborhood or whatever.  truly, deeply, i do not understand geographical spatial relationships.  i can follow directions regarding putting one foot in front of the other, and so if you said, "oh, like if you're on high street and you take a left on main street, you're near that burger place," i might know what you are talking about.  also, we can maybe talk about, say, the vibe of the city or the population or the city paper or even a restaurant or something, or the city's history, but please know that if you say, "where did you live/visit?" and i tell you and you say "oh, so north of the zoo" or whatever, i will only blink at you because the words you have said to me have no meaning.  and do not make it worse by going into more geographical detail, for real.