Do you think in directions?

I hopped in a taxi today and asked the driver to take me to the north side of the railway station. He looked flumouxed. "Is that the side with the ticket machine?" he asked. I confirmed it was and then asked him what he calls that side of the station, "ah, the up line". I think in maps and whenever I'm travelling anywhere new I feel quite unsettled until I can see a map and place my new-found world in its correct geospatial position. I like to know which way north is. It's a big scary world out there but as long as I know which way is up I'm happy.