anxiety attack thursday

today i got lost on the bus. not just like around the city lost and i could exaggerate to my friends about how lost i got; today i got really, really lost. the first part of the day was awesome, to say the least. i got up early and went for a long run in the park. then i went to spanish class. after that, i had 3 hours til my next class at un cuyo (in the parque). so i went to a cafe and read my book in english and had empanadas yummmy. then i walked to class, only to have it be canceled!! hoo hah go u bears style. so then i thought i was being really cool and took the first line 3 bus that came to my stop. i think i thought that they all kind of ended up in the same place. wrong-o. i should have noticed that it didn't go down the hill into the city of mendoza, but instead went to some sketchy stadium in the parque. i contemplated getting off. but obviously didn't. that was dumb. then i went on this hour long bus ride into godoy cruz. if you google "godoy cruz" you will find that it is a province of mendoza. it is south of the capital region. it is also quite sketchy. like we drove through a shantytown and under  bridges. and then we kept going. so i rode the bus all the way to the end. i was going to ask for help, but then this kind lady told me it was the last stop. so  i get off at this stop where there are all these mechanic fixer-upper businesses and run down houses and walk really quickly to another bus stop with a lot of people. a taxi rolls by. contemplate taking a taxi because i am terrified of getting mugged, even with a lot of people watching. but didn't. that was my second dumb decision. get on the first bus that comes, another line 3 bus. the bus stop sign said it went right by the university. on this bus for a good 45 minutes, retracing the route of the bus i had just gotten off of. so we drive under the same sketchy bridges and pass the highway (where i saw a sign for el centro and mendoza). then we drive to the middle of nowhere where somehow there are bus stops. then we start to head back. i was so disoriented by this point i wanted to fall asleep. i also really wanted to ask for help but didn't because i wanted to pretend i looked like i knew what i was doing. so finally we make our way back to some main road where there are plenty of pharmacies and kiosks. then we drive around a corner and the street signs change. hallelujah to the baby jesus. we drive by "emilio jofre" street, the street that the ifsa-butler office is near. so i prayed to god that we were actually back in mendoza and not in ghettoland. and whattya know, the bus turns onto that street and i see the ifsa office. and i almost peed my pants i was so relieved. so then i ride this bus and get off on aristides, the street with all the bars and restaurants. then i caught another bus and walked home.  all in a days work. except i am so tired and will never be taking busses ever again after mendoza. the system here scurrs me. so moral of the story: never take busses, always take taxis, and if you look like you know what you're doing, you probably do.