While living overseas, I like to share our American culture with others. (Last year we had just arrived, so it was just the two of us…and the cable company) This year, I invited the Cub Scouts to celebrate Thanksgiving in Indonesia with us. Although this group is multinational, none previously had the opportunity to enjoy a Thanksgiving feast.We met up at the Kite Museum for a tour and making kites to knock out the last requirement for the Art Explosion elective, and then we all caravanned to my place for lunch.
Webelos Scouts celebrating Thanksgiving in Indonesia
We met up at the Kite Museum for a tour and making kites to knock out the last requirement for the Art Explosion elective, and then we all caravanned to my place for lunch.
Thanksgiving place setting with place card and menu cardWebelos Scout parent volunteers – carving the turkey
Upon arrival, the kids attempted to fly their kites outside and played at the neighborhood playground, while the grown ups got everything set up inside. We had some snacks set out: roasted cashews, cinnamon spiced almonds, cheddar cheese, apple slices, green olives, and pita crackers. Some noshed while others carved the turkey, poured juice for the kiddos, and pulled the side dishes out of the oven.
When everything was ready, we gathered in the living room to quickly share our Thanksgiving traditions and the feast began!
Thanksgiving Lunch
We had roasted turkey, sage stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, corn pudding, sweet potato casserole with marshmallows, green salad, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, apple pie, and chocolate chip cookies.
The kids sat at the kids table in the family room. They were all so well behaved. They were adventurous in trying new foods, and they even put their plates in the kitchen when they were finished eating!
Homemade Apple Pie and Pumpkin PieEnjoying the turkey after a busy morning making and flying kites
At the adult table, we took turns sharing a few things that we are thankful for. I think everyone was thankful for Cub Scouts – the opportunity to spend quality time with their children as well as having the opportunity to meet people outside of their normal/natural circle of friends.
Now that our second Thanksgiving in Indonesia is a wrap…I think it is time to put up the Christmas tree!
To help Jackson celebrate his Indian heritage, I invited a few friends for lunch to celebrate the Indian festival of Diwali.
Harold the Hedgehog joins us
After I sent out the invitations, Jackson’s teacher asked if he could take Harold the Hedgehog home for the weekend. Harold is the class pet, and the kids sign up to take care of him on the weekends. Harold was here to help us celebrate as well!
Harold the Hedgehog
Several of our guests had been to India before. One did the ‘Rickshaw Run’ and traveled around India by motorized rickshaw. He was also in Chennai as part of his Semester at Sea program. Another backpacked through India over a summer. We enjoyed reminiscing about our times there. The kids just played. Coloring, Lego, hide and go seek. They finally went outside to the neighborhood playground!
For drinks, we had lime sodas, lemonade, and chai (spiced tea).
We started with Samosas. A fried pastry filled with potatoes, peas, and lots of spices.
We then had chicken biriyani (chicken and rice), chicken tikka masala (grilled chicken in a spicy tomato sauce), and palak paneer (paneer is a type of Indian cheese. The paneer was covered in a spinach cream sauce).
And for sweets we had galub jamun (like a donut hole soaked in sugar syrup with saffron and cardamom for flavor), Carrot Halwa (carrots cooked in sweetened milk, with golden raisins and cashews, and more cardamom), and Kaju Katli (cashew fudge – flavored with even more cardamom!)
I struggled with whether I really wanted to pull this off so soon after Halloween and before Thanksgiving. I just went for it and am glad that I did.
What a fun time we had for our second Halloween in Indonesia – decorating, pumpkin carving, and trick or treating!
Halloween Decorations
Restraining myself, I waited until mid-October to pull out the Halloween decorations! I reused many of the items from our Harry Potter birthday party, taped paper bats to the windows, hung a black feather wreath on the front door, and pulled out my spider web door mat and skeleton dishes that I picked up at Kirklands last year, while I was in the U.S. (squeezing everything into my suitcases!)
We made a special trip to the fancy grocery store in search of a pumpkin for carving – and we felt so lucky when we found one! We took it home and carved it the very next day. My Indonesian colleague was so intrigued with this real pumpkin that looked just like my fake Halloween pumpkins!! I showed her how we scooped out the insides…this one was definitely real!
I even used an actual recipe to roast the pumpkin seeds. I’ve never added more than just oil and salt, but this time I added garlic powder, pepper, and some chili powder (I was out of the paprika that the recipe called for). They turned out quite nice.
Pumpkin Carving
Trick or Treating
The neighbors stopped in after the kids were done trick or treating and I whipped up a pitcher of my ‘go to’ red wine sangria – it really fit the Halloween theme, a Texas Sheet cake – enough chocolate cake for a crowd – with purple and orange confetti sprinkles on top! I love this butter toffee popcorn recipe. I made two batches. The first batch was crispy, buttery, and delicious. Unfortunately, it was late when I made the second batch. I took the tray out of the oven to cool, and went to bed. When I got up the next morning, the popcorn went soft – the humidity here was just too much. I did put the popcorn in a ziplock bag with a slice of bread, to see if that would help…but it didn’t.
Well, we couldn’t have ALL sweets, so we also had the Pioneer Woman’s Nachos. I made these for my dad for dinner last summer (I told him it was taco salad!) and he could not get enough of them! I had the same reaction here on Halloween. My neighbors gobbled them up! This recipe is definitely a keeper!
We also had the roasted pumpkin seeds, fresh watermelon slices, and ice-cold lemonade for the thirsty trick or treaters.
Our second Halloween in Indonesia will be hard to top next year!!
Another campout with the cub scouts is in the books.
We departed around 6:00am Saturday morning and traveled by hired bus for about 1.5 hours to the Lodges Ekologika – Portibi Farms in West Java. http://portibi.com/
When we arrived, we dropped our bags in our respective bungalows, huts, and tents and then enjoyed a light breakfast of bagels, toast, banana bread, fresh fruit, etc. We filled our tummies and then headed off on a hike. The Webelos scouts recited their Outdoor Code and Leave No Trace principles.
After the hike, we had lunch – enjoying many of the delicacies of the farm. Lots of fresh salads, local specialties, hot soup, and beef tenderloin sandwiches.
Then, the kids moved on to a lesson in first aide, before heading down the hill to do some farming.
They discovered that cinnamon grows on TREES! They harvested lettuce, nutmeg, rosemary, cassava. I understand there was also a bit of fighting over whose turn it was to fertilize the plants with goat poop! While the kids were farming, the adults had afternoon tea – Indonesian farm style. Lots of hot tea and fried snacks – like fried bananas – and we had fresh fruits like watermelon, honeydew, and orange slices.
Cassava is also known as yuca or manioc, Cassava is a type of root vegetable that is high on vitamin C. It can be boiled, fried, grated, or pureed.
When the kids returned, the Webelos had a cooking lesson – peeling, chopping, and boiling their cassava. While dinner was cooking – and to keep the kids out of the rain that had started – it was time for some art practice. The Webelos needed to create two self-portraits – using two different mediums. All the kids joined in and we did pencil drawings with colored pencils and then paintings with water based acrylic paints. It was so much fun to see all of the kids sitting together and showing off their creativity. We had to stop at 5:00pm, so dinner could be set up, but I think some of the kids would have been happy to keep on creating.
At 6pm, we had a lovely dinner of beef tenderloin, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes made with purple ‘sweet potatoes’. We topped them with some butter and pesto! We had French fries made with the purple sweet potatoes, and delicious salads.
Of course, it would not be a cub scout campout without a bonfire and s’mores. So, after dinner, we went in search of the bonfire. It was at the very bottom of the hill. We had to navigate our way down a narrow path lined with stepping stones, and it was getting quite dark. Luckily, we had our flashlights and (battery operated) lanterns. The kids enjoyed roasting their marshmallows and lining up for mini chocolate bars and graham crackers to make s’mores. What a fun-filled day. We all wound our way back up the mountain to find our beds. Jackson and I were lucky to have a shower (with hot water!) in our bungalow. However, another mom was in a ‘hut’, and although she was dripping sweat from climbing the mountain in the heat and humidity, she did not want to venture out in the dark to the shared shower room, so she used her fan to cool off before drifting off to sleep. (I think we are all glad to be back to ‘civilization’!!)
Sunday morning included a lovely breakfast of mini waffles, eggs, bagels, and some local favorites such as Nasi Goreng (fried rice). The kids learned to tie square knots and then we packed up and headed home.
In my line of work, promotions are hard to come by – we compete against our peers to fill a designated number of spots at the next pay grade. Even if you have been recommended for promotion by the promotion boards, there might not be enough spots. In this instance, you miss out on the promotion, and start all over again the next year.
I should have been thrilled when the stars aligned and I was finally promoted. However, I learned that I had received a promotion on the same morning that I learned my mom’s passing was imminent. It was an awful morning, and I was certainly in no mood to celebrate.
Now that a few weeks have passed, I took advantage of the Columbus Day holiday and invited a few colleagues (who were also promoted!) over for lunch. We had the day off, but the kids had school, so we enjoyed a relaxing afternoon talking about how we got to where we are today, and the next steps – for our next promotions!
We started with a glass of champagne to toast our success.
I added fresh squeezed lime juice, lime wedges, and simple syrup to the tray. Then of course, I opened the champagne!
We had fresh lime sodas and mango juice to drink.
We had Italian wedding soup, Greek salad, fresh Italian bread, and baked ziti for lunch.
And for dessert we had tiramisu and pizzelles, served with hot tea and coffee.
I made the tiramisu using this recipe from All Recipes. All of the tips I read insisted that I use real espresso. So, I had some delivered from Paul cafe!I’ve tried this recipe before, cooking the eggs in the pan, and my eggs curdled. I now use a ‘double boiler’.A friend gifted me her Kitchen Aid stand mixer when she received a new one. It is still running strong on the transformer! (Note the UHT (shelf stable) whipping cream.) Most recipes call for Marsala wine. I didn’t have that, and I didn’t have any rum, so I used cognac. I tried dipping the ladyfingers into the coffee on a shallow plate, but I ended up dunking them in the measuring cup with tongs. That worked best for me. After they were chilled, and ready to be served, I sprinkled them each with a bit of unsweetened Hershey’s cocoa powder.The table was set – ready for food and guests! I put each tiramisu cup on the little boards, with a fresh mint leaf – plucked from our herb garden.
I mentioned earlier that promotions are hard earned, oftentimes taking 6, 8, 10 years or more to achieve. Technically, I am competing against each of these ladies for future promotions, but this was a warm, friendly gathering – each of us sincere in celebrating each other and encouraging success.
As soon as school let out for the summer, Jackson and I were on a plane to the U.S.A.
Travel to the east coast from Jakarta is brutal. We took three planes. The first flight was from Jakarta to Tokyo and was about 7 hours in the air. Then we had a 9-hour layover in Tokyo! We tried ramen, we shopped in the Japanese souvenir store, and we walked back and forth to kill time.
Next up was a 14-hour flight from Tokyo to Washington, D.C. This leg is tough. We couldn’t get off the plane fast enough and thankfully breezed through customs and immigration with our Global Entry passes. We collected our checked bags, rechecked them, and then boarded our last flight for another 2 hours to South Carolina.
Jackson said a quick hello to Grandma and Grandpa (and their dog Indy), before he was whisked off for a summer adventure with his dad.
For the next week or so we suffered from jet lag – sleeping all day – and lying awake all night, until our bodies accepted that we are on the other side of the world.
This visit, I hung out with my mom and dad for two weeks.
Once Jackson was finished with his visit to his dad, he and I took a road trip to see family in Pennsylvania.
After a month of sleeping on air mattresses and living out of suitcases, we were both ready to head home.
Grandma and GrandpaTrying Ramen in Tokyo (the broth was very fishy!)Playing the piano for grandma and grandpa – showing off all of the new songs he has learned.Grandma’s lily, on her front porch.Celebrating my birthday at Seven Springs!Jackson rode the Wild Mouse at Idlewild…and he LOVED it!!!Kettle Corn at the Arts and Culture fair at Twin Lakes Park. It was hot, fresh, and delicious!Cousin time! We got to see cousin Chelsea perform at the festival!I picked up a National Parks pass while home.
I volunteered to help with the Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet this year.
It turns out that the banquet is actually a breakfast that we combine with the bi-annual awards ceremony, the Arrow of Light (AOL) ceremony, and the crossing over (to Boy Scouts) ceremony.
Collaborating with the scout leaders, I designed the program: Awards first, then crossover, and lastly, our Blue and Gold celebration. This program included blue, yellow, white, and green candles. I did not have colored candles, but I did have acrylic paint. I painted clear glass votive cups to match the required colors. The program also called for colored face paint. I could not get my hands on safe/quality face paints in time, so I used water-based/non-toxic paints mixed with zinc-based sunscreen. The colors were vibrant, did not stain the kids faces, and most importantly, were safe.
I then designed the coordinating e-invitation, welcome posters, thank you tags for the parent volunteers (these were attached to blue and yellow iced fleur-de-lis shaped sugar cookies), and personalized AOL photos of the kids crossing over to Boy Scouts.
Luckily, I had lots of help decorating: blowing up balloons, hanging streamers, setting up the awards tables. Everyone had a great time, and we’ve set the bar for next year!
Pack 3455 Appreciates You!Treats for the parent volunteersPainting votive cups for the AOL crossover ceremony.Arrows of Light
Lombok is an Indonesian island east of Bali and west of Sumbawa, part of the Lesser Sunda Island chain. It’s known for beaches and surfing spots, particularly at Kuta and Banko Banko (in south Lombok). The motor-vehicle-free Gili Islands (Gili Trawangan, Gili Air and Gili Meno), off Lombok’s west coast, offer more beaches, reefs for diving and snorkeling, and a sea turtle hatchery. ― Google
At the end of April, over the local holiday called Idul Fitri, Jackson and I flew to the island of Lombok, in Indonesia. It is about a 1.5-hour flight from Jakarta.
We stayed at the Oberoi Beach Resort for 3 nights, using the resident discount, and it was really lovely.
It was about a 1.5-hour drive, with the option of taking the oceanside route, or the monkey forest route. We chose the monkey forest route on the way to the hotel, and we saw lots of monkeys along the way. The drivers on the road would slow down and feed the monkeys, but they were not aggressive, like I hear the monkeys in Bali are. Tip: Consider taking the monkey forest route back to the airport and bring some of the fruit from your room to feed the monkeys.
When we arrived at the hotel, we were greeted by a line of hotel staff whisking open the car doors and donning us with flower leis. It was such an amazing welcome!
We quickly checked in and were then shown to our room. Sweeping ocean views, high ceilings, massive windows, and frangipane flowers placed throughout the room, the shower, the bathtub…everywhere! We had a bowl of fresh fruit, and a cookie jar filled with cookies.
That afternoon, we signed up for a few activities like snorkeling the Gili islands, visiting a wildlife park, and junior bartending. We explored the place – with Jackson on a borrowed bicycle, we learned to play congklak, which is similar to mancala, and then we had a lovely dinner under the stars. It was very late (for us), but Jackson had to try out the AMAZING bathtub before he hopped into bed.
Amazing bathtub, with a lily pond outside the window.
The next morning was a bit of a scramble. I assumed the breakfast was a buffet (as it was included in the room rate). Fortunately/Unfortunately – it was just as luxurious as everything else. There was no buffet. I asked our waiter to notify the boathouse that we would miss our snorkeling adventure. I understood that it was completely my fault for not allowing enough time for breakfast. The snorkeling outfit agreed to wait 20 minutes for us! The waiter rushed our order, and Jackson and I wolfed down our breakfast (and my cappuccino!) and ran off to the boat house to join our trip.
Snorkeling in the Gili Islands
Another family must have also miscalculated as they missed the trip entirely. There was one other couple, and when I apologized for being late, they said they had also just arrived, so it really all worked out perfectly. It ended up just being me, Jackson, and the couple – who happened to be from the U.S. They were lovely and made the trip enjoyable. We boarded the boat and headed off to the Gili Islands with two boat hands – one captain, the other was the snorkeling guide. Once we arrived at the snorkeling spot, they expected us to actually GET OFF THE BOAT. The other three hopped right into the water…but I was not as keen. I got myself on the edge, and unwillingly thrust myself into the water. I struggled with the flippers on my feet – I couldn’t tread water like I’m used to, and just wanted them off. The guy on the boat kept offering to give me a life vest. By the time I got the flippers off, the others had swam away. I tried to catch up to Jackson, but we were going against the tide. I did some snorkeling but didn’t see anything. I was trying not to panic. The guy on the boat told me to hold on to the ladder on the side of the boat, and he would drag me to the group. It was slow going. I tried my best not to get flung into the propeller. We picked up Jackson and the other lady along the way. But the guy eventually stopped the boat and told us to hop back on – he would have to speed up to catch the guide. Using the ladder I had been clinging to, I got on the boat, and wasn’t planning to get out again. HA! We had to get off the boat at the first Gili island called Gili Meno. Here, we backed in, and were able to use the back of the boat as a step. We saw a baby turtle sanctuary. The baby turtles were adorable but were not ready for release. Getting back on the boat was easy enough, using that back step. The others did some more snorkeling along the way to the next Gili island called Gili Air, and they got to swim with a turtle! At Gili Air, they drove the boat in frontways, and we had to jump off onto the sand – no step, no ladder. The boat man did his best to catch me before we tumbled onto the sand together. We enjoyed lunch with our travel companions, and then it was time to head back to Lombok. Surprisingly, they expected me to climb back into the boat without a ladder or a step. I tried, but it was not going to happen. Eventually, they turned the boat around, so that we could all use the step. I was done getting off and on the boat by now. The others were tired, and we were all ready to get back to shore. It was a lovely, peaceful return journey, and I have no desire to go snorkeling again. 😊
Turtle Sanctuary, Gili MenoLunch with our new friends on Gili AirJackson enjoying a Sweet Lime Soda
After making our way back to our room to change, we went off to find the junior bartending class that Jackson signed up for. He had so much fun making a Shirley Temple and a ‘Mojito’. He tasted them both, and actually liked them. We poked around the resort for a bit, stopped for afternoon tea, and then a tropical coconut drink for me while watching the sunset. (And even bumped into colleagues from the office!) We signed up for the 6:30 (early) dinner. It was lovely – this time with live music. Another soak in the tub and then off to bed.
Junior BartenderCoconut Drink and sunset, Lombok Island, Indonesia
Our second full day, we had a more leisurely breakfast of pancakes, croissants, yogurt, fresh tropical fruits, cappuccino, before heading to the local wildlife sanctuary. After purchasing our tickets and paying for baskets of fruit to feed the animals, we met our guide. He shared information about the animals, carried our fruit baskets, and even took loads of pictures of us with my camera. (This was especially nice, as we don’t have many pictures of the two of us together on these adventures!) It was a hot and steamy day, but full of fun. Jackson held a python! We had an orangutan interaction with Kiki the baby orangutan. He got to pet an owl. I’ll let the pictures do the talking here.
Breakfast at Oberoi Beach Resort, LombokFruit Basket for the animals at the wildlife parkWelcome Committee at the Lombok WIldlife ParkJackson holding a pythonJackson and Kiki at the Lombok Wildlife ParkKiki likes JacksonJackson petting an owl – is this Hedwig?
On our way out, we stopped for ‘tea’. What a lovely set up. It was too hot for traditional tea, so we each had a ‘sweet lime soda’ otherwise known as a ‘lime squash’. (Fresh lime juice, soda water, and some simple syrup.) I tried a bite of everything, but Jackson was not feeling so adventurous.
Refreshments after a long hot morning
We headed back to the resort and hopped into the infinity pool to cool off. Ha! The water was warm! We had fun splashing about – with the palm trees swaying and the gorgeous views of the Indian Ocean. We lounged in one of the pavilions, sharing a massive burger and some fries for a late lunch. We poked around some more – playing lawn games and swinging on the massive tree swing. Then, Jackson found the “Business Lounge”. There was another family of boys his age going in and out. He discovered that they were in there playing video games!! He joined them, and I sat next door at the outdoor tearoom and enjoyed some spicy ginger tea and the gorgeous views. By dinner, Jackson was exhausted. We found our table and discovered that there was a buffet dinner instead of the ‘normal’ menu offerings that we had started to grow accustomed to. He was thrown off by the buffet dinner, as he was looking forward to having pizza for dinner. Luckily, they allowed him to order the pizza from the regular menu. I enjoyed a few items on the buffet – they had a whole roast pig, a Soto Ayam buffet: Soto Ayam is a traditional chicken (ayam) soup which is based on flavorsome broth and incorporates shredded chicken, rice noodles, turmeric (hence the rich yellow color), lemongrass, ginger, chili, and kafir lime leaf, shredded vegetables and it is traditionally served with half a boiled egg and segments of lime on the side, and then we called it an early night.
Swimming and Lounging Tree Swing at Oberoi Lombok
On our last day, we packed our bags, enjoyed one last amazing oceanfront breakfast and checked out. The kids were back in the ‘business lounge’, so Jackson hung out with them for a bit while we waited for our time to head to the airport. We were prepared for the monkeys with the leftover fruit from our room, but the driver took us along the ocean road this time. The views were so amazing – we were not disappointed. We bumped into more colleagues at the airport – all heading back to Jakarta from a lovely stay on Lombok Island.
