This year we celebrated 247 years of the Marine Corps. The Marines in Jakarta planned a fancy ball to celebrate, and the tickets were sold out before I even arrived in Indonesia. My office was kind enough to save a ticket for me so that I did not miss out.
This was not my first Marine Ball. In fact, my first one was in 1987. 😊
I’ve been lucky to attend a few more since then. They are always special, memorable, and a fun time. The ladies are typically in ballgowns, and the men are in tuxedos. I did not bring a gown with me (and my shipment is not yet here), but I did have some fancy clothes that I had planned to wear on the cruise in August. It is HOT here, so they worked out just fine. I took some time off from work and went to have my nails done at a local salon.
When it was time to leave home for the ball, I took a taxi, and really had no trouble at all. I arrived during the cocktail hour and received a rose at check-in – all the ladies did! Drinks were available for purchase, but there was only one bar, and the line was a mile long, so skipped the drink and I mingled with my colleagues until it was time to go in for dinner. The ceremony was moving, as always. The Marines presented colors, meaning they brought in the U.S. flag, and special guests sang our national anthems. Then the Marines had the cake cutting ceremony, where the oldest Marine and youngest Marine participate – each getting one of the first pieces of cake and then we toasted the Marines with champagne. We heard speeches from the U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia, the U.S. Ambassador to ASEAN, a Marine Lieutenant General who was the Guest Speaker, and we even watched video remarks from the Marine Commandant.
For dinner, they first served dinner rolls. Then mushroom soup, that was delicious. And then our entrées were served. When we purchased our tickets, we chose our entrees. I selected chicken. It was served with mashed potatoes and gravy, and edamame. For dessert, we had some sort of flourless chocolate cake. It was rich and delicious! There were nearly 500 guests, so while dinner was being served to everyone, we enjoyed watching dance performances from dancers of the varying regions of Indonesia, and we listened to music performed by a local band. The dancers were lovely, and the band played some classic American tunes.
Unfortunately, I had to leave after dinner, as I had an early start the next morning. Others stayed, dancing until midnight!
2012 – Mumbai, India
2015 – on my way to the ball in Baku, Azerbaijan