We are in the middle of a pandemic. There is currently a COVID-19 outbreak worldwide. This corona-virus affects the respiratory system, making it hard to breathe. It is not a gastrointestinal illness, which begs the question, why is there no toilet paper in stock in the west?

Actually, why can you not get anything in the west anymore? I have been seeing posts from my friends on facebook that are quite disturbing. Grocery stores are completely empty.  There is no formula or wipes for babies. No meat is available for purchase. Non-perishable foods are sold out in store and online. There aren’t any face masks or hand sanitizers available, even to medical professionals on the front lines. It’s honestly disgraceful.

This is a major problem, honestly. Stores should limit the amount of items a person can buy. No one out there needs 15 gallons of milk, or 32 packs of chicken. We should share with our neighbors during this time- let’s look out for one another. If you have extra of something, please consider donating it to someone that is without. Mamdouh came home from the store with 6 (SIX) bottles of hand sanitize. At first, I was annoyed for him because I thought he was being a selfish hoarder. When I asked him why he bought so many, he told me it was because he wanted to share it. He bought extra for me to give my friends and him to give his family in case we had a shortage here. I married a great guy.

I will say this- the stores here are well stocked. The government is working hard to make sure that we have what we need, and that there is a plan in effect to reduce COVID cases. Everything is available for delivery, so we don’t even have to leave our houses. The problem, however, is that Riyadh is a heavily populated city. Sometimes there is a very long wait time for delivery. Other times, the stores are so crowded that they have to temporarily close until it clears out a bit. Even with all that, we are able to get what we need. As much as I miss my home in the west, I am very thankful that I am here in Saudi Arabia right now.

I took some video footage last time I went shopping to make into a vlog, but I haven’t actually put it together yet. I wasn’t sure if people would be interested in watching it or not. If you would be interested, let me know in the comments!

Salaam,

KC