Could you survive?

I like to think I'm a "survivor". I can stay calm in stressful situations, can find uses for things that seem useless, and have a pretty good sense of direction. Premiering June 28th is USA Network's Burn Notice, a new series where one of the characters will have to deal with a situation like being stranded in an unknown city with no money or resources. Sometimes I play out this scenario in my head, just to prepare myself in case this ever happened to me.

If I somehow found myself in an unknown city, the first task would be to talk to people until I figured out exactly where I was and also to locate a map as soon as possible to get my bearings. If I was planning to stay in this city, I would have to think about the basic needs of food and shelter. Most cities have some form of shelter for homeless people, so I would locate a shelter before nightfall. Finding food can be tough if you have no money, but chances are you could find at least a quarter on the ground or from someone willing to give you some money. That would at least buy you a banana or an apple from a grocery store or street produce vendor.

Depending on how long I was planning on staying in this unknown place, I would have to think about getting a job to raise money for food and shelter. Even if I was planning on traveling back to my home town, I would still need money for any kind of travel besides walking. I would never consider hitch-hiking because it is too dangerous and there are a lot of weirdos out there.