What's Missing?

Language miscommunications can be really funny sometimes. When I came to Antigua, I forgot my contact lens case and left it at the last hotel. I didn’t realize this until late the first night I stayed with my new family. Everyone was in bed, and I needed somewhere to put my contacts. So I went through the kitchen cabinets and found little teacups to use. The next morning, I put my contacts on just fine but forgot to tell my house mom why I had used two little cups. Well, while I was gone, she found them in the bathroom and of course cleaned them and put them away. Today, she asked about the little cups, and I was so glad because I wanted to explain! But I didn’t know how! I knew the words for “I forgot” but I didn’t know the words for “contact case.” So I pointed to my eyes and said it was for my “lenses de contactos.” I got the “I forgot” in there somehow, but in my efforts, I somehow gave her the impression that I had forgotten my contacts in the little cups. She suddenly feared that she had put away the cups with my contacts in them, and she frantically started going through all the little cups and looking in them for my contacts! I kept saying “No, lo siento…” and trying to explain that my contacts were in my eyes and they were fine. The case is what I had forgotten, but I bought a new one, and everything is fine now. Oh my goodness! I wanted so bad to explain such a simple concept, but I didn’t know how. I guess I communicated that I forgot something and it had to do with my eyes and I bought something, but I don’t know exactly what I said. Finally, I got smart, went and got my new contact case from the bathroom, took it to her and asked how to say it. Then things got better. I didn’t mean to scare her. I really just wanted to laugh at the whole scene. I am clearly not fluent yet.