Y'know, Fatum, on my first morning in the US during my
attachment, I went over to a student in a cafe and asked about bus
routes and she was so helpful, she walked back to her hostel to
grab her bus map and gave it to me! 
It
proved very useful cause I used it to plan my visits to the town
area, which was incidentally also the Harbourfront area.
I was pretty friendly there, talking to the neighbourhood folks and
all. I was also very blessed and protected by the Almighty because
unlike the other girl, I was never harrassed by the street beggars
and vagabonds, even though I went out alone on a few
occasions.
I was very very careful to look like I lived there and wasn't a
tourist! 
I
might be lost and shivering in my feet, but I NEVER let the
confident look in my face falter one bit. Once you do and they
realise you're a tourist, you're dead meat! 
It was kinda scary still... cause the Johns Hopkins Hospital was
located in a seedy part of town with black neighbourhoods and slums
surrounding it. Scary! I went to bed
most nights hearing police sirens, helicopters flying overhead, and
gunshots and shouts. Most nights, I didn't
dare look out the window in case a stray bullet were to come my
way!
