So you think you can hack it?

---

Boy I'll tell ya, there are some true tests of overseas living. When you are carrying everything on public transport, your grocery trips tend to be rather small. Therefore, you shop almost every day. Bigger things like "Wow a laundry hamper would be nice" get put on a list for a later day, when there are a number of things like that, enough to justify taking a taxi home from the store. But yours truly has always been big on doing things now, things that should probably wait.

To begin with, Dave is one of two 6th grade advisers. Besides the glorious task of teaching the children not to be pains in the neck, he also got to spend an overnight camping trip with them last weekend. Unfortunately, I had scheduled an appointment for our cat to get more thyroid meds the night before. And as those things go, we had an after school meeting, followed by a Latvian language lesson, so that by the time we got home, the cats appt was about 20 minutes away, and the walk was 20 minutes away. We also only had the GIANT airline crates that the cats were shipped in. So Dave and I, grumpy, hungry and tired, start the trek to the doc. Poor Dave. He is lugging this giant carrier down these peaceful streets, and the Latvians are staring. Latvians don't stare. No one is supposed to know your business here. Oh sideways glances aplenty, but open staring? Only for a man in a business suit lugging a GIANT cat carrier with one tiny cat in it down beautiful tree lined residential streets. And no, he wouldn't let me take a turn. Good man. Get to the vet FINALLY, and the experience couldn't have been nicer. Very practical people, they leave Tasha's care mostly to us. In other words, you know your cat best. So now its 7 or 8 ish, and the walk home is much nicer, since we had expected a longer appt. Get home, and have to pack my hubby for camping. Having never camped in Latvia, it took us the better part of an hour to say yay or nay to everything. Also in the back of my mind, I know that I will be coming home alone the next day. I'm making a grocery list, among other things, and this is where the first paragraph comes in. I think to myself, wouldn't it be nice if the cats had a small cat tree. Your mind can make a mental note of this one.

So Dave gets going the next day, with the job of DRIVING one of the school vans to the site. Not only has he not driven in Latvia before, but it is a stick shift van. However, if you know Dave, you know he only had 10 seconds maybe of doubt before loving every moment, which of course prompted the discussion of "We should probably get a car next year" when he got home. And we probably should. Anyway, I make it through the day, happily catching a car ride home before I head off to the store by tram. I have this awesome list and I just know it will be great. 2 hours later, I am lugging 2 large bags of groceries, a cat fountain, and a small cat scratching tree, put together, back to the tram stop. Yeah, while the cats needed it. . . .some things should probably wait for taxi. :D However, I managed to lug it all on, acting very Latvian by staring ahead and paying no attention to the loud guys behind me, then dragging it off the tram and making it home. I am practically asleep by the time I hit the doorstep, but I managed to put it away, talk to mom on Skype, and have a few minutes to read. Dave survived his adventure by the way. He actually had a great time getting to know the Latvian bus driver, who spoke 4 words of English, but bought Dave's lunch, and took him on a hike. He also kept handing him these hard ish peanut butter candies called Crabbies. Fabulous.

Cue the next week. It's a good thing we knew where the vet was, because we came home that Tuesday to find Cleo unable to stand or eat. She simply fell over. We called a teacher who lives close to us for a ride to the vet. Turns out he was with our director and they both came to take us over there. Those two kind and generous people stayed the entire hour and a half that it took to get her in and looked at, and then took us home. The clinic was swamped, but when they did get Cleo back, she was a sick enough kitty that they kept her for 5 days. Turned out to be some kind of viral infection that plagues cats when they come here. Maybe something in the water? Not sure, but I'm glad the auntie is back on her feet and feisty as ever. She has several spots that are shaved from the tests, but we have stopped laughing at her. Mostly.

And of course, this is about the time that culture shock theorists believe is the end of the "honeymoon" phase. We will probably stop thinking that everything is grand and descend into a slight madness every now and again. Not that we don't do that every now and again anyway. It doesn't help that this time will coincide with the dark and the winter. And the fact that there are no Doritos here. But with a sense of humor, hopefully it will not be as bad as it could be. 😊

---