Pudiera haber sido peor

From the moment I woke up this morning, everything was off. I woke up and just felt so tired, like I hadn’t slept at all even though it was really about 6-7 hours. Normally this wouldn’t be weird the whole time I’ve been here it’s been really easy to get up. Anyway, every morning Miriam sets my breakfast out on the table in a little plastic sack, usually it’s a few pastries or bread or something like that. And I eat it straight out of the bag because Argentines aren’t big on napkins either. But after I had eaten part of it, I noticed that the other side of the bread was very moldy. ¡Guácala! So of course, I started feeling all iffy because I knew I had eaten from the bag with the moldy bread. Then I had a meeting at the ISA office at 11:30 so I had to take two colectivos. I wasn’t too worried because I still had the paper where Miriam had written which ones to take. The first one took me to where I needed to be but the second one was all wrong. I swear, I’ll never get the hang of those things! I found the 152 and asked to go to Cabildo 800 and it should have tipped me off right then and there when the driver looked at me funny. But I got on anyhow and waited and waited on this super-crowded bus for Santa Fe to turn into Cabildo. It never did. Apparently I was on the right number bus but going completely the opposite direction. I finally realized my mistake when we turned onto Avenida de la Libertador (Completely the opposite side of town from the ISA office in Belgrano) and stepped off the bus with absolutely zero clue how to get back to where I needed to be. I could take the Subte (if I could ever find a station) but it was already 11:30 and the Subte would take forever. I found a taxi instead. One important thing to know about me is that I absolutely hate to be late. Well, I don’t really know anyone that enjoys it, but it really flusters me. I called Paula to tell her I’d be late and she was completely fine with it but I still felt really bad. Anyway, I made it to the office and was walking up the stairs when I realized I couldn’t find my ID holder to put my coins in. The ID holder that is attached to my keys. I frantically searched through my bag but they were nowhere to be found; I had left them in the taxi. And in a city of more than 40,000 taxis, I had zero idea which one it was. As if I wasn’t flustered enough already. The whole time I’m freaking out in my head but trying not to let it show because Paula is telling me all these important things about how to get my Visa next week. And despite the fact that I was crossing my fingers as hard as I could, I couldn’t keep from crying. And the whole time in my head I knew that it wasn’t that big of a deal but you know, whenever you know it’s stupid and want to stop crying the tears just keep on coming. So there I was ridiculous crying in the middle of this meeting and Paula talking about immigration stuff and probably thinking I’m completely crazy.

And the funny thing was that after I got off the first bus, there was a Subte station right there that I knew would take me right to the office and if I had done so, that whole situation could have been avoided. But for whatever reason I thought it would be easier to take the bus. And then my eye starts doing this weird twitching thing so for the rest of the day I had random bouts of twitchiness. But after the meeting I calmed down and went to the bank to get some more pesos but of course, my debit card won’t work in the ATM. So I ask this worker for help but it won’t work and we try my credit card but even if it’s a credit card you have to enter a PIN. My credit card doesn’t have a pin, I just always sign for it. So he tells me to go upstairs and talk to the bank people. Then the bank people say they can’t help me and that I need to use the ATM. So I go back down and try a different one and it still won’t work. I nearly start crying again right there in the bank. But then finally we realize that I had just been entering a wrong amount (apparently you can only take out 700 pesos at a time). I go take the Subte to school but of course by this point, I was already late for class (fortunately, I hadn’t missed too much). During the break I call Miriam to tell her about the missing keys but my phone runs out of credit. Ridiculous. But I finally get a hold of Miriam and we agree that we’ll meet at the house at 9:50 so she can let me in. But you know, with the language barrier, I was bound to get confused. (I waited in the lobby for 45 minutes before I could get a hold of Miriam and figure out she was upstairs.) And later that night a giant cockroach thing flew through my window and into my room. I tried to get it but it scurried out into the living room. I told Miriam and she said, “Oh don’t worry, it wasn’t a cockroach, they don’t fly. We call these mariposas de la noche. Butterflies of the night.” I’m telling you, this was no butterfly. So now there is a cockroach-like thing living in my house.
But other than that, the rest of my day passed completely well. Class was wonderful, I ate empanadas with my friends after, homework was fine, Miriam was cool about the whole thing, etc… And Paula told me that getting new keys here doesn’t really cost that much. Really, days are all about attitude. From the moment I woke up this morning, mine was off. In the cab this morning I was trying so very hard to change it but it wouldn’t budge. During my trip to Florida last spring I learned that you can start a fresh new day at any moment. Great philosophy. Finally, after class I was able to make it to a new day. But either way, I am so fortunate. Because as bad as this day felt, it could have been so much worse! Life is pretty good when a wrong bus, lost set of keys, and a flying cockroach are what’s considered bad. And overall, it was a good lesson on grace and humility. Just when I think I have things under control, God shows me how much I need him… because clearly, I am not capable of doing life on my own, I’m a complete mess! Which is pretty cool. And, Pudiera haber sido peor. It could have been worse.