We had a fun morning exploring the kite museum in Jakarta with the scouts.
While I initially heard our guide talking about ‘lions’, I quickly learned that layang-layang means kite in Indonesian.
Scouts are getting ready to tour the kite museum
Our guide shared information on the kite’s history in Indonesia and then took us on a tour of the museum to see all the kites – many have been flown in regional competitions.
After the tour, the kids got to make their own!
It was not a particularly windy day, but that did not stop the kids from trying to fly their newly created works of art!
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.
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.
I created this video of a person I admire very much for his resiliency. He has moved many times in his short life, and in the past two years he has attended three different schools. To me, he is the epitome of the term resilient: the ability to recover quickly from difficult conditions.
Our second camping trip with the Cub Scouts was much more our speed.
We arrived by speed boat. It was an hour and a half trip, and the last part of it was wild! The water in the Java Sea was a bit rough. The boat hit the white caps, and we sailed into the air, and then landed hard. Over and over again. My head was pounding by the time we arrived.
We were greeted with cold drinks and snacks such as sandwiches and tropical fruit, and then we took a quick tour of the island and found our assigned tents. The tent was right on the water – with beautiful views. We were in a ‘glamping’ tent, so the tent was raised off the ground on a wooden platform. We had mattresses and little tables inside the tent. (I put my glasses on the table this time, so I didn’t step on them in the middle of the night!) We also had a ‘power brick’ that kept a fan running all night. I was also able to use it to charge my phone and camera batteries.
This was an eco-adventure and the kids did a beach clean up and planted mangrove trees to help the environment. But mostly, they just played in the sand. The island was small enough to let the kids run around. They also went fishing, they found crabs, played with sticks, and went paddleboarding and snorkeling. They earned their whittling chip and Bear Claws adventure. We even had another bonfire and roasted marshmallows. Jackson loved roasting them and then turning them into s’mores for me! As we crawled into the tent, we were both feeling pretty good. Neither of us said “I want to go home”. The second day was just as fun and relaxing, but by lunch we were ready to go home.
A fragrant yellow frangipani flower in the rain. Jakarta, Indonesia. February 12, 2023.
Roni (no last name) is a barber who lives in Jakarta, Indonesia. Here he is seen making a house call. February 19, 2023.“Unfriending” in the early days. Faces on printed photos were scratched out when you were mad at a friend (or sibling!) Photo was taken at about 5:30pm, on March 2, 2023, using natural light from the window to the left of the composition. The photographer used items saved from her childhood and marveled at how times have changed.
Fresh leaves growing on a mangrove tree. Desa Laguna Resort, Indonesia, March 26, 2023. Mangrove trees serve as a major “blue carbon sink”, meaning they are excellent at absorbing and storing carbon from the atmosphere.
Bamboo that has been harvested for use as building material at Desa Laguna Resort, Indonesia, March 26, 2023.
A baby coconut found on the Desa Laguna island of Indonesia on March 26, 2023.
A canoe anchored on the regenerative resort island of Desa Laguna in Indonesia, March 26, 2023.
The table is set for a Harry Potter birthday party in Jakarta, Indonesia, February 3, 2023. Eight year old Jackson is getting ready for his 9th birthday party. Jakarta, Indonesia, February 11, 2023.American Flag at U.S. Embassy Jakarta, taken at a colleague’s re-enlistment ceremony. February 9, 2023.American-style blueberry pancakes in the tropics, served on British Colonial Dinnerware Collection by Lenox. Fresh flowers from the garden, and fresh squeezed orange juice. Jakarta, Indonesia, February 11, 2023.
We have now been in Cub Scouts for a few years. Jackson has participated in two pinewood derby races, and we were prepared to do the same this year. (We even bought powdered graphite to lubricate the wheels), BUT here, they have LEGO derbys!!! Jackson loves Lego, so we certainly got behind this new adventure.
Jackson built his racer with Lego parts that he had. He ended up adding some coins for weight, by sliding them into the windows of his car. His Cubmaster called it the ‘PiggyBank Racer’!
Jackson won the first heat, but then his car went off the rails! The winners of the race this year tested their cars on the track in advance. We’ll be sure to do that next year!
