Musings on our first Saudi apartment

Me, I had to smile this morning.

Our apartment layout is not of my choosing. A large living room, a massive open bedroom and a hallway of a kitchen meets the bathroom. It’s one of those houses that is made for the heat, so inherently traps the cold of winter (which it is now). Sweaters are layered on while inside to ward off the cold, with a signature blanket scarf (my personal favorite actually being a Turkish towel for the hammam). Bare feet are unthinkable; instead I’m wearing socks on top of socks, awkwardly stuck into shib-shib (flip-flops) to avoid the stone floors. Our little heater is wheeled between the two rooms, this one conveniently having a cooktop for tea.

Now this might feel like complaining, but I’m setting the stage. Our hallway kitchen (I can’t even call it a galley kitchen, it really is that small), does not hold our mini fridge. Instead, our little fridge is tucked near the doorway in the bedroom.

We brought a few kitchen conveniences from Dubai (at much amusement of the border patrol). What made the list was the air fryer, toaster, my American measuring cups and spoons, a good chopping knife and our beloved espresso machine and coffee grinder. Once we got here we realized we should’ve packed the whole kitchen, cups, plates, forks and all.

Fast forward to unpacking the kitchen, where there is no counter space for chopping, let alone for the air fryer and barely for the off-kilter toaster. So, I found a home for the coffee station on top of our mini fridge in our bedroom. Who doesn’t like the smell of coffee in the morning? This way it’s just that much closer.

As I made coffee this morning, spilling coffee grounds on the cluttered fridge-top, spotted with drops of espresso already, I smiled. I smiled at my new mug, a cute dipped ceramic to match the earthy tones of AlUla. I smiled at Mido’s mug choice, clear and small. I snuggled further into my favorite yellow sweater, a gift from a dear friend, and smiled more.

You’re allowed to complain. Life is not always peaches and roses or sunshine and rainbows. Here we are on this great new adventure, halted by covid and currently defined by the cold walls of this new apartment. But I can still smile.