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!