Unexpected Firsts

In a new place, you expect to do some things for the first time--try out new restaurants, check out new stores, try haggling at the local market... and then there are the things it never occurred to you that you might end up doing.

Night before last we got to experience our first ambulance ride in Georgia! Cassandra had croup--which is a relatively common condition for babies, but still terrifying. http://children.webmd.com/croup-directory
Basically I woke up at 3:45am and she seemed like she might be choking on something. She couldn't even cry--she tried a strangled whimper and it was clear that something serious was going on. Thank God B is a former paramedic. He took one look at her, knew it was croup, and immediately called the emergency medical # the Embassy gave us. Within 15 minutes, an ambulance pulled up out front, with an English-speaking doctor inside. They whisked me and Cassandra to MediClub, the fancy private medical clinic here. They did three nebulizer breathing treatments and gave her a shot of steroids, and then she was better. I was so grateful when she started fighting the breathing mask and screaming, because it meant that she was breathing better and feeling stronger! Overall, they did a really good job with her and I was so relieved to know that in a medical emergency, the care provided here is good.

More fun firsts:
We love meat. B is basically a meat-atarian. So far we have not been impressed with the meat available at the supermarket, so we sought other sources. So our private city tour last week turned into a meat-buying tour.
Stop 1: in Mtksheta, a gorgeous medieval city near here, we went and toured some ancient churches, then stopped at a butcher's stall and bought beef. It's interesting--here there is only one price for meat. So you can get a chunk of cow that contains lousy stew meat or a chunk of cow that contains Porterhouse steaks for the same cost! We bought a butchery book to help us figure out what to ask for and how to recut it once we get it home, but until it arrives it's all guesswork. We were relieved that our guider/driver also bought some meat from the same place--it's some affirmation that the meat probably is safe and won't make us sick!
Stop 2: We'd heard that you can tell shepherds by their hats, and that you can buy fresh lamb from them. So we pulled over by a gas station where some shepherds were, asked them for lamb, they disappeared into the field behind the gas station and reappeared a few minutes later with a freshly skinned whole lamb! They'd already removed the head and hooves and entrails, so it was all beautiful fresh meat. We took it home and had an outrageously delicious and tender roast leg of lamb that night. Bliss! So now we know some excellent meat sources, which is really important for us.

Fancy first:
Last night was the Marine Corps Ball. It was so fun to get all dressed up and go out to an adults-only party! Almost everyone is still a stranger to me, so it was a sea of unfamiliar faces for the most part, but we're steadily meeting people and making new friends. It was nice to see everyone all beautiful and shiny. I wonder if I'll recognize them in real life! ;)

Monday will be my first day back at work, hooray! I'll be in the Community Liaison Office (CLO), helping out family members with questions about post life. It will be cool to work in the go-to place for information and it will provide me with all the answers I need to live here, too. I'm really glad they were able to process my paperwork and get me on the federal payroll so quickly!

First PCS Wrap-up

It feels so surreal to be here. Too many things have gone extremely well, with gorgeous weather, so the whole experience has been like being on a movie set!

Our long flight from DC to Munich was ok. James played quietly and happily for about an hour, then slept straight through the entire rest of the flight! Cassandra reacted gassily to a turkey sandwich and spent a fair amount of the flight screaming, which was unfortunate.

Munich was over-the-top wonderful—WAY better all-around than we even hoped. First, we took the vast majority of our bags to Munich’s “Left Luggage” service, which costs money but is absolutely the most wonderful thing ever. We hopped right on the hotel’s shuttle bus with our small bags, arrived at the hotel around 7AM, and were allowed to immediately check in. They even gave us free breakfast for both mornings! So we went and dropped off our stuff in the room, then went down to the opulent buffet spread downstairs. After a delicious breakfast, we went back up to our rooms. Cassandra and I immediately went to sleep. James stayed up playing with B in the next room for a couple of hours, then they slept too. Around 2 pm, we got in touch with my friend Kristin, who agreed to meet us in the city center for dinner. James was very excited to get to ride the S-bahn train, which was clean and smooth and convenient (right from the airport.) We met up with Kristin and her son Nico, who is a few months younger than James, and we got to walk around the center of Munich (just gorgeous!). We had dinner at a nice German place and the kids were mostly cooperative (Cassandra was an angel, James settled down once Kristin gave him games to play on her smart phone). After dinner we walked around a bit then took the train back to the airport and the shuttle bus back to the hotel.

The next day, Kristin came to the hotel to pick us up (after our marvelous buffet breakfast) and brought us back to her place. She lives in a brand-new ground-floor apartment with a private backyard, so it feels like a house. The kids played together nicely while we sat outside on a gorgeous day chatting and sipping coffee. Later on we went to the zoo and enjoyed walking around and riding on the miniature train. I took Cassandra on the surprisingly fun and fast miniature car ride and loved it. Finally, the amazing Kristin and her wonderful husband Harry not only took us to the airport, but also helped us get all our luggage up to the check-in counter and stayed with us until we went through security! HUGE thanks to them, who made our time in Munich just wonderful!

The flight from Munich to Tbilisi is only 3½ hours, shorter than I thought. Cassandra went right to sleep and slept almost the whole way. James was WIRED and SO excited to finally be flying to Georgia. (Poor little guy. We’ve been on the move for a couple of weeks, staying in various hotels and with family, and he kept trying to figure out WHEN we were moving to Georgia. Of course, the real answer was that every day we were part of the process of moving to Georgia, but I think it was a huge relief for him to finally be on the last airplane and on the way to our new house!) Anyway, James and I played various somewhat-quiet games on the plane, and then we landed. Men were sent to help expedite us, we got all our bags, and we loaded up into the van. As we drove toward our new house, B’s coworker pointed out various landmarks. The city is beautiful at night, with tons of lights showcasing points of interest.

We got to our house and got unloaded just after James feel asleep, but he woke up and walked through the whole house with us, doing the grand tour. The house is BIG and gorgeous, with amazing views of the city. The kitchen has ceramic tile that looks like slate, which helped us feel at home right away (our kitchen at home has slate). The coolest thing about the house is that it has a plethora of balconies and patios. The master bedroom has its own patio, which I think of as my private morning-coffee-with-a-view spot!

The nicest, TOTALLY unexpected surprise was that James adored our nanny, Tata, from the first moment! We Skyped with her one time from the U.S., so that James would know her face, but we thought it would take some time for him to warm up to her, especially with jet lag and all of the stress of moving. I arranged for her to work 4 hours the first two days, beginning our very first day in Georgia. When Tata arrived, James immediately grabbed her by the hand and led her all through the house, excitedly telling her about everything. THANK GOD James adored her right away. That makes everything else SO much easier. Cassandra took a few days to feel comfortable with Tata, but she’s fine now. Generally she follows her brother’s lead in all things.

Figuring out a new schedule and adjusting to the jet lag is taking some time, but we’re all getting some sleep and working it out. I went into the Embassy on Friday to meet my new boss at the CLO (Community Liaison Office) and to quickly check email. The kids stayed home with Tata and did just fine. Today (Saturday) we asked Tata to come in for a few hours this morning so that B and I could go into the city kids-free and take a look around. The city center is clean and safe and great for walking. There’s a new park with a playground right by the old town, so I plan to bring the kids down there sometime next wseek. Apparently the zoo here also has a miniature train, so James will LOVE that whenever we make it out there.

Our new neighbors and coworkers have all been incredibly nice and helpful. One of them gave us a brownie mix to help James settle in (he loves to bake, especially brownies, and he hasn’t been adjusting well to the food differences here). James was SO happy today to get to mix up the brownies and to eat something that tasted familiarly good!

In short, our first PCS (Permanent Change of Station) went marvelously well. We’re still settling in, and the house echoes a lot without any stuff to fill it up, but this is going to be a wonderful post. Tata has been speaking only Russian with us and the kids, except when absolutely necessary, and I’ve been relieved to discover that in fact I did not forget all of the Russian I learned at FSI! Generally I’m able to chat with Tata and to talk to cabdrivers and store clerks in Russian with limited problems. J

Things to Remember for next time:

1. Packing coffee in the luggage was ingenious.

2. Next time, put a few trash bags in the luggage too! And some knives. And scissors.

3. The wall decals (owls for Cassandra, Thomas and Friends for James) made a HUGE difference in making the house feel like home.

4. Pack more diapers in the luggage next time. And wipes. And fewer work clothes for me (they could all have gone UAB, since I won’t start work for a few weeks while they process my paperwork.)

5. Pack more clothes for the kids. James suddenly grew in the last few weeks and now several pairs of his pants are too tight to wear. So pack one size up in the luggage, too!

6. Pack more comfort foods in the luggage. Brownie mixes, rice, peanut butter and jelly, etc. And pack some milk juice boxes. And ketchup.

7. Pack a nice purse! I had nothing decent-looking to bring to the Embassy with me.

8. Pack full-size toiletries (shampoo, conditioner, soap) and a hair dryer.

9. Pack language books and reading books and games in the luggage. Things to do to pass the time when jet-lagged, etc.