Settling In

I'm settling into a routine here in Abu Dhabi. I haven't been able to swim here, as I did in Dubai, because I'm not confident that my ear is completely healed. And things here are certainly different than at home.

There was a large open space in front of the window in our living room. I first tried creating a "window seat" using the pillows from the sectional, the extra pillows I'd requested to sleep sitting up when we first got here, and the extra comforter I requested to lounge with.

Before and After

I knew this was not the perfect solution because I was basically sitting on the floor. This might be fine to curl up and read or to people watch or traffic watch, but it does not work well for using my laptop or eating a snack. Further, the pillows slipped out through the day so that I was just sitting on the folded comforter. I decided instead to move the lounge portion of the sectional over to the window.

This is working much better. It's here that I sit in the morning, with my laptop and my tea, watching the insane traffic and the gridlock that is the entrance to the Al Wahda Mall at inexplicable times of day.

We've recentered the remaining part of the sectional to the television. I never turn it on during the day, but in the evening, Craig will connect his laptop so that we can watch shows from home. My Sims laptop is on the coffee table. I tend to sit on the floor while playing, as that's the most comfortable configuration I've found.

This apartment provided a drying rack (something we had to buy for our Dubai apartment). That has taken up near-permanent residence behind the dining table. The washing machine is so small that I do a load or two of laundry every other day just to keep up. Like the machine in Dubai, the machine in our apartment does not do anything that resembles drying. The first time I did laundry, I washed a load and hung it to dry. I washed a second load and ran it through multiple dry cycles (totally about 5 hours). When I took that machine "dried" load out, it was actually wetter than the first load that was hanging. I have not tried the drying feature since. Instead, I use the machine to wash and I hang the clothes to dry.

One of my friends posted this on Facebook - it fits.

I try to put off lunch as late as I can, because dinner will be very late. My afternoon is much like my morning, broken only by the housecleaning crew that comes in for a few minutes each day. Unlike a hotel, they only do a full cleaning of the apartment twice a week. Daily, they empty the trash cans, replace towels, ensure that we have toilet paper, and replace the water jug when necessary.

On our first day, the cleaning crew brought in this water dispenser. It's great to have because the tap water is undrinkable. In our Dubai apartment, we had a couple bottles of water delivered daily. I would tuck them out of sight each day so that they would bring more, but we still occasionally had to purchase bottles of water. My only question about this is why it was not in the apartment when we got here. We didn't know to request it. But it seems like something you would just leave in each apartment.

Our drinking water supply.

Craig typically leaves work at 9 pm, which puts him home around 9:45. Most nights, I make dinner here. We've ordered in a couple of times, with mixed results. You might think we don't go out to dinner because it's too late when Craig gets home, but that's only partially true. It's too late for us. On those nights Craig had come home early and we've gone out, between 7 and 8, we've found that it's too early for anyone else to be eating. I'm very confused about the local schedule here.