Last Day of 2007

It's New Year's Eve, again.  Last year we spent the holiday at the Tanjung Lesung Sailing Club. It was a wonderful, amazing, almost magical holiday.  We thought about heading down for the New Year's but decided we could never recreate the experience, especially with so many of our friends from last year now gone from Jakarta. This year we are just hanging out at home. 

David and I ended up driving all over Jakarta today searching for black eyed peas since the commissary is out and I just gotta have them tomorrow (for good luck).  We finally found them at Caswell's Mom's  in Kemang.  I really hope there is something to all this "good luck and prosperity in the new year if you eat them on New Year's Day" bit because these will be the most expensive black eyed peas I have ever eaten.  Sometimes things that are cheap at home are very expensive overseas.  If  you really want it you just buy it without too much thought about the price.  I guess that explains the jar of caramel vanilla coffee creamer that I payed almost $8 for last week. Still cheaper than Starbucks considering it will make a couple of dozen yummy cups of coffee.


While we were driving David took some pictures of the street venders selling noise makers for New Year's. The bright colors looked so fun that we stopped and bought some to take home to the boys.  Tonight at bedtime we let the boys make a New Year's toast (Sprite and cherries in a fancy glass) and blow on their noise makers.  Cody took his noise maker to a friends party where the teenagers are hanging out to ring in 2008.  I hope her parents are talking to me tomorrow.  Those things are seriously loud!

Grayson is helping us wait up for Cody because the fireworks outside are keeping him awake. Fireworks are not only legal here in the city, they are sold in the grocery stores.  Grayson is terrified of loud noises (rainy season storms have been fun) but I think he is sort of milking it tonight to get away with staying up late. Maybe he will sleep later than 5:15 tomorrow morning. 

Christmas Family Photo

Here is our family photo taken Christmas morning. To see the "other" family photo click here.

Wordless Wednessday - Christmas Afternoon: Jakarta

Selamat Natal & Tahun Baru

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! (Indonesian Style)
We saw this on our way to the Embassy and thought it was funny how the commercial west influences the east... even in a country where 90% of the population is Muslim.

Hope you and yours have a very Merry Christmas!!!

Idul Adha

Today the animals are gone from the street side in Jakarta but a week ago on a drive from our house to the high school we passed cows and goats standing patiently in stalls and empty lots all along the way. Last year I managed to be oblivious to the influx of livestock, perhaps because our car still hadn't arrived so my explorations of Jakarta were very limited. I saw a buffalo in the kampung area near my house and few goats tied at the end of the street but that was about it. This year I realized there are a lot of animals being sacrificed for Idul Adha. It really is a BIG deal. Much more than just another day off for my driver and pembantu.


What is Idul Adha? If you are like most Americans you may not have even heard of this Muslim holiday or you may have a vague idea that this is the time of the Haj, when Muslims from all over the world descend on Mecca. Curious David asked Haryono and I googled Idul Adha. Here is what we found out:

• Every Muslim is supposed to make the Haj at least once in a lifetime. Idul Adha marks the end of the Haj.
  
• The animals I saw are bought by individuals, families, or groups and on the morning of Idul Adha they are slaughtered and the meat is donated to the poor. For many poor here in Jakarta this may be the only time of the year they get to eat meat.
• The slaughter of animals is done in remembrance of Abraham and his willingness to sacrifice his son Ismael.
  
• The date of Idul Adha varies from year to year and is based on a lunar calendar that is 11 days shorter then the western calendar. Last year it was on New Year's Eve, 10 years from now it will be on September 1st.
  
• If you are squeamish DO NOT go for a drive on the morning of Idul Adha, we did and ended up saying "Hey look at that....over there!" to keep the kids from seeing the gore. The animals are slaughtered publicly. We did not take pictures as this is a religious event, to take pictures seemed intrusive and disrespectful.
  

I hope I have all the basic facts correct. If not just comment and I will fix it. I find learning about cultures other than my own to be the best part of living overseas. I try to keep an open mind.

Wordless Wednessday - Nature's Christmas Ornament

Expat Life

Conversations among ex-pats in Jakarta this time of year all start the same way. "Where are you going for the holidays?" I have lost count of the number of times I have answered this question in the last two weeks. Everywhere I go: the grocery store, the swimming pool, even the salon it's the same question: "Where are you going for the holidays?"

Most seem taken aback when I tell them we are staying here in Jakarta. I have run into only a few others who are staying here. Most are heading home, where ever that may be,  to share  the holidays with family.  I can certainly understand this. If it didn't take 2 days to get home from here (not to mention a small fortune in airfare) I would consider it too. Those who can't take the time off to go home seem to be heading to Singapore or Bali. We will be staying here and enjoying our time together as a family since David will finally be home after several very long weeks in Bali.

Wordless Wenesday-Santa?

Wolfie

This weekend we were very happy to have Wolfie from Alonzo's class visit our family. Alonzo had a lot of fun doing things with Wolfie and writing about it in Wolfie's Journal. Wolfie visits each student in Ms. Wolff's class. Each student then writes an entry in Wolfie's special journal so the rest of the class can share in his adventures. We were a little sad that David wasn't here to meet Wolfie but perhaps he will visit the school someday soon and introduce himself to Wolfie.


Here Alonzo and Wolfie read some of the older entries in Wolfie's Journal made by his other friends from school.


Wolfie kept Alonzo company while he practiced piano. Alonzo is working on a special song to surprise his Dad when he comes back home next weekend. He is getting pretty good.


Wolfie joined us for dinner, one of Alonzo's favorites, Southwest bean soup and cornbread with butter and honey. Wolfie was careful not to let his paws get all sticky from the honey.


Wolfie even slept with Alonzo in his bunk bed. He thinks it is very comfortable and cool to sleep up so high.

Wolfie didn't want Colin to feel left out so he spent a little time in his bed too. Alonzo didn't even know he was gone. Wolfie can be very quiet.


Wolfie introduced himself to our cats but the cats weren't sure what to think about him. He looks a little like the German shepherd next door that is always trying to eat them. Fluffy did finally decide that Wolfie was OK, for a canine.


Alonzo discovered a small hole just above Wolfie's tail so I performed minor surgery. All is well now but Wolfie found this to be a hair raising experience.

We would like to thank Wolfie for his visit. We all enjoyed it very much. He is always welcome at our home.

Wordless Wenesday - Balinese Dancer

Out the Window of a Plane

David and I were on a plane Tuesday when I glanced out the window and saw mountains. I had my usual reaction, being from relatively flat south central Texas, "Hey Cool! Look at the mountains." I am a bit of a mountain junkie.  I am waiting to stand on my first "real" mountain.  I have been to the Smokey Mountains, Big Bend, and of course the Texas Hill country.  All are rugged and beautiful but they are not "real" mountains.  I want towering cliffs, glaciers, snow capped peaks.  The Rockies, the Andes, the Himalayas, the Alps. You know REAL mountains. 

After pressing my face to the window like a 8 year old I said, "They look like volcanoes, look that one even looks like it's smoking.  

Dave said sorta slow, like maybe I'm not that smart, "Umm babe, it is smoking."

GULP!  Is it really a good idea to fly over a smoking volcano??  

Wordless Wednessday -Marine Corp Ball 2007

Busy Busy Weekend!

Whew I meant to up date the blog earlier this week but last several days have been crazy.

First I got hit by a stomach bug on Thanksgiving. About 2 o'clock my tummy suddenly cramped by 3:30 I was praying to the porcelain god for a quick death. David took over the cooking. At 5 I managed to make it to the dinner table but I couldn't eat. By dessert I was done for the day. Friday passed in a blur, mostly I slept although I did manage to wake up long enough to spill Gatorade in the piano. By dinner time Friday I was feeling better and was hungry, very hungry. I ate my thanksgiving dinner a day late but it was yummy all the same. David is a very good cook!

Saturday after the Yamaha music repairman finished mopping up the Gatorade, David and I went to the opening of the Ken Pattern art exhibition at Galeri Hadiprana. Ken Pattern is an amazing artist here in Jakarta. He is Canadian but resides here part of the year. He is best know for his stone lithographs that capture the extreme contrasts between modern life and the traditional life in the kampung areas. He also creates stunning acrylics. We enjoyed seeing his new works as they were revealed to the public for the first time.

After lunch at our favorite Chinese restaurant Din Tai Fung and headed for the grocery store but stopped to check out the new One Pacific Place the new Ritz Carlton. WOW All I can say is WOW. This is so much more than a hotel. It is a city. It's own city. There are three high rise towers-- hotel, apartments, and business space, connected by what has to be the biggest mall I have ever seen. Most of the stores weren't even open yet but it was seriously overwhelming. The 2 story food court on the is themed as a board walk area complete with lighthouse, water, and moored sailboats. At the very top there was even a children's amusement park Kidzmania

That evening David and the kids surprised me with my birthday present. I say surprised because my birthday is Wednesday but David and I will be in Bali and he wanted to celebrate with the kids. I am thrilled with my pretty blue guitar. Now I just have to learn to play it!


Sunday was more laid back.We rearranged the living room and took the kids for a swim. Then after lunch David and I walked to Kinokuniya bookstore to buy a how to play guitar book. On the way David took pictures along our walk, perhaps inspired by yesterday's art exhibit. After dinner we set up the Christmas tree. Usually we would wait to set it up until about the 10th but David will be in Bali for several weeks (I have to come home after just 2 days) and I wanted everyone here when we set up the tree. We ended the day with the Grinch Christmas cartoon. It was a very nice way to end a busy weekend.

Wordless Wednesday - Big Bugs

Seven & Seven

Thank you Jae, for tagging Shannon! We have never been tagged before either. Shannon thought it would be kool for both of us to do the 7&7. We are excited and hope we can get others to play also.

Here are the rules:
1. Link to the person’s blog who tagged you.
2. Post these rules on your blog.
3. List seven random and/or weird facts about yourself
4. Tag seven random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
5. Let each person know that they have been tagged by posting a comment on their blog.

Dave
1. I like bad jokes.
Man 1: Do you know I what saw?
Man 2: No. What did you see?
Man 1: I did not see anything, but I saw a piece of wood right in two.
Man 2: LOL Ha Ha Ha
2. Did not learn to read until I was in 5th grade
3. My wife and I met in the 9th grade, but we did not date until 2 years after our 10 year reunion. Yes we graduated from the same school, same year, 1986
4. I am 5 of 9
5. My wife is forcing me to do this… ok not really
6. I have circumnavigated the continent of North America during which time I ran around the world in less than 2 minutes and stood on the geographic North Pole
7. With as much as I would love to have a daughter, in this day and age, I am not only thankful, but grateful I have four boys

Shannon

1. I lived in (or near) San Antonio for the first 38 years of my life.  Now I live in Indonesia and am moving to Germany next year.  Until we got on the plane to fly here I had never even been outside the US (unless you count border towns like Nuevo Laredo and Juarez.) now I have a ton of frequent flyer miles ( I HATE to fly)
2. I have a maid and a driver, I have a staff! No, I am not rich (by American standards), my husband works for Department of State, and I am a stay at home mom, by the standards of the average Indonesian we are rolling in it. Weird world!
3. I taught elementary school for 7 years.  Now I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up, maybe a writer.
4. I met my husband in high school but I knew all about him and his family because my best friend in 6^th grade had a massive crush on his older brother(s).  We did not date until a few years after our 10-year high school reunion.  We e-mailed for a while and after some interference by the same friend started dating.  Thank you Kari!
5. I like beer, dark beer, my husband hates all beer.  I am going to love Germany! David is the permanent designated driver.                       
6. I am a dog person, really, I love dogs.  We have two cats, one of which thinks he is a dog and is trying to crawl into my lap as I am typing this.  He used to go for walks around the neighborhood with me and the boys, back in Texas.  Funny cat.
7. I am the only female in the house, I have four boys (15, 7, 6 and 3) and a husband.  Even the cats are boys!  HELP ME! 

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