Our First Thanksgiving in Jakarta was an adventure. I am so excited to have a full sized oven, gas stove top, and a full sized refrigerator and a stand up freezer. I’m not as thrilled that our shipment is still not here, so no nice dishes, no pie plates, no stand mixer.
I worked to stock the cupboards to ensure that I had enough butter, sugar, flour, and Crisco. I almost forgot the cloves. I did forget the ginger.
I was fortunate to get my hands on mushroom soup, fried onions, Crisco, and a turkey. And I had brought a can of Libby’s pumpkin in my suitcase.
On Monday I put the turkey in the fridge to thaw.
On Tuesday, the nanny made the tart shells.
On Wednesday, I turned the shells into chocolate tarts. The butternut squash was baked, there was a last minute run around town looking for sage and cloves. But the ginger was missed. Without the ginger, I did not get the pumpkin pies made, but the crust ingredients were assembled. The turkey was dry brined.
On Thursday, Jackson was supposed to be in school, and the nanny was going to help me. He got sick, so I told her not to come. I was left to fend for myself. It was then that I realized that my casserole dishes are not yet here. I would have to improvise on the squash, green beans, and corn dishes. I had to get the ginger and get the pies made. Without glass pie plates, I turned to my mini tart pans. I went to roll out the dough that was prepared the day before. It crumbled into dust! I added water trying to save it, but success was not on the menu.
I forgot to hit ‘start’ on the timer, when the turkey first went in. I’m not sure how long it roasted at 500 degrees, but the house started filling with smoke, and the turkey was brown all over. (a little too long, I think). I turned down the temperature and covered the bird in foil. I also added more water to the bottom of the pan.
I mashed the potatoes, made the gravy, heated up the side dishes, and released the cranberry sauce from the can.
We sat down to dinner around 5:00pm, Jackson gobbled up the turkey, and even tried a few bites of the other food on his plate. Then the doorbell rang. It was the cable company, coming to install the fiberoptic cable! (I did reach out to set up an appointment and said any day this week would be fine. I certainly did not expect them at 5:15pm on Thanksgiving Day!)
As a child, I camped with the Girl Scouts and with the YMCA’s Indian Princesses, but I have never camped as an adult. I was a bit nervous. Jackson has camped with his dad a few times, but he was also both excited and nervous.
We got up at 4:30am on Saturday morning to finish our packing and load up the taxi. We had bags for swimming, rain gear, food, and general stuff. We took two foldable camping chairs and a foldable wagon. (Items my generous colleague lent to us) It seemed like we had everything but the kitchen sink!
We met the group at the meeting location, but one of the busses was delayed. We waited on the corner of the street for about 30 minutes before we could load our gear. Once on the road, we drove about 4 hours out of Jakarta to a campground called Caldera River Resort. (The highlight of the journey was a bathroom stop that had a Starbucks nearby! I dragged Jackson down the hill and grabbed a cappuccino before the busses took off again!) We drove up and down and all around the mountain/volcano and upon arrival at the camp, we drove down the hill to our tent location and the bus got stuck in the mud!!
Thankfully, our tents were set up and ‘beds’ were made. (We had foam mats under a sheet, a pillow, and a top sheet.) The group met up under the dining pavilion for a potluck lunch. There was a wide variety of food items, consisting of American, Indonesian, and Chinese cuisine. After lunch, the group walked over to the rafting site. Everyone was outfitted with a helmet and vest and hopped into their rafts. It was so much fun to see each raft (about 10!) launch into the river. Jackson LOVED this and can’t wait to go rafting again.
After rafting, everyone changed into dry clothes and headed over to the ‘Flying Fox’ and had a turn at zip lining over the raging river!! The kids put on helmets and harnesses before walking over a suspension bridge and clipping onto the line from a platform where they jumped (or were pushed!). They zipped across the river and a worker pulled on the (rope) brakes for them.
While the Webelos and Arrow of Light kids made dinner, Jackson wrapped up his Bear Claws requirement. (he can now have his pocket knife with him at scouting events) For dinner, we had hot dogs and a beef soup. It was camping food, but no one went hungry. Luckily, there was support at the campsite, and a helper washed all of the dishes for us. 😊 One of the volunteers borrowed Jackson’s pocket knife to peel the vegetables, and when washing the knife, it slipped and went down the drain of the outside sink!! Of course, I said it was ‘fine’, but it was Jackson’s first knife, and he had literally JUST earned the privilege of using it!!! I did not want to have to tell him that it was gone. As it turned out, his knife was returned to him, and it was another knife that went down the drain!!! EEK!
After dinner was cleaned up, I showered, and Jackson fell and hurt his arm. As I was trying to navigate the rustic shower facilities, a little girl yelled in “Is Jackson’s mom in here?!” I shouted back that I was, and she let me know that he was hurt and in the dining pavilion. I dried off as quickly as I could, trying not to step in the muddy areas, and trying not to get the bottoms of my pants wet – and ran to find Jackson. He was OK, but his arm was sore.
After putting up my shower stuff, we sat around a lovely bonfire and roasted marshmallows and made s’mores. Jackson has not been a fan of s’mores in the past, but this time, he decided he liked them! He had two, and even made one for me! The fire was large, and in comparison, the marshmallow roasting sticks seemed short. It was hard to get the marshmallows roasted, as we had to stand too far back to avoid being scorched ourselves. We had pink Haribo marshmallows and thick Hershey’s Nuggets, but the kids didn’t know any different. They just enjoyed the excitement of the evening.
When the fire died down, it was time for bed. We climbed into our tent, turned on the battery powered fan, and tried to go to sleep. Sleep did not come easy. Jackson wanted to go home. (I wanted to go home), and we heard a little voice outside of our tent saying “I want to go home!”…it seemed everyone was ready to go home, and yet we had to spend the night sleeping on the ground. We were next to the raging river and we could hear it roaring all night. There was another group at the campground. They were adults, on what seemed to be a team building excursion. They were in the bungalows near us and playing LOUD disco music. Then the rain came. Jackson had to use the bathroom. I stepped on my glasses trying to get out of the tent. Jackson’s arm was hurting, and he needed some Tylenol. The battery on the fan died. I was imaging that spiders and mosquitos were in the tent with us. Finally, morning came, and we got up and started packing our gear.
Breakfast was quite lovely. The moms, along with a few Webelos, made eggs and bacon on camping stoves. Jackson made his own PBJ sandwich. I tried instant coffee, and it was not too bad. The helper washed the dishes. The group went for a muddy hike through nearby rice fields.
We finally packed up the buses and made the 4-hour drive home. What an adventure!
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!
2010 – Wellington, New Zealand2011 – Wellington, New Zealand
We celebrated Halloween on Saturday with a trunk or treat. The cub scouts had a teepee for the ‘trunk’. Jackson shared some plastic spider ‘rings’ with his fellow scouts, he enjoyed a snow cone, and lots of cookies and cupcakes – along with a chicken nugget and a French fry. It was so so so hot. But the veteran trunk or treaters said they were not complaining, as it typically rains! We had so much fun!
Then on Monday we celebrated in our neighborhood with door-to-door trick or treating, American-style. With lots of American candy! After the trick or treating was complete, the kids ran around, and the grown-ups gathered at a neighbor’s place to wrap up the evening with chips and salsa and margaritas. We are already looking forward to next year’s celebrations!
At home, our air freight arrived so we had a few decorations to put out. I taped paper bats to the front window and mixed our fake pumpkins in with the Jack-o-lanterns that we carved.
Party Invitation that I madeHalloween display at the local grocery store
I was not in the office on Bosses Day this year, so my greetings were a bit delayed. However, I did make this cute card and some chocolate chip cookies for my new boss.
He was tickled. He had never heard of bosses day, so was not concerned at all about me being late with my wishes.
I’ve not heard anything from Jackson’s teacher or homeroom mom about Halloween festivities at school this year – no reminder to wear Halloween costumes and no request for candy. It turns out that Halloween is not celebrated at our school here. No costume parades or parties. Assuming that we would have a party at school, I stocked up on treat bags, bought treats, and made these cute little tags. Since I’m already prepared, I’ll just send in the little treats for the class to take home. Each pack has an American candy, a Halloween sticker, and a Halloween ‘punch’ balloon.
And fortunately, we have other opportunities to celebrate this very American holiday over the next few days…so lots more fun to look forward to!
We spent Saturday morning at the Jakarta History Museum. Jackson’s favorites were the prisons. One prison for the women and one for the men. The women’s prison was smaller, with no windows. The men’s prison was larger, and with barred windows.
My favorites were the furniture and textiles.
It was a fun morning and then we went to a local historic restaurant called Batavia. We cooled off in the air conditioning and had fresh squeezed orange juice and a fried noodle dish to share. It was delicious, but I was envious of those who ordered the almond croissants. They were huge and fluffy and looked fabulous! Some folks in our group ordered coconut water – in the coconuts!
It was Uniting Nations week at school. Everyone was asked to bring in a food item that represented their home country, to share with their classmates.
Tollhouse Chocolate chip cookies are my ‘go-to’, so after stumbling through the neighbor treats, I felt ready. We also had rice crispy treats, deviled eggs, and pumpkin muffins from the other Americans in his class.
In my attempt at learning Adobe Illustrator, I studied a lot of tutorials, downloaded some ‘assets’, and whipped up this map of the United States, with a few of Jackson’s favorite things. I think it turned out so cute. The cookies were a hit. And Jackson was so happy that I was able to join the potluck. It was a really nice day.
We got up and out the door early on a Saturday morning for Jackson to try out baseball. We found his group and he joined right in. Everything was in Bahasa (the local language), but he managed and actually made a friend. While they waited in line for their turn to run, catch, or throw, they fooled around – giving each other High Fives and such.
Baseball in Bahasa
After two hours in the heat and humidity and waiting for what seemed like forever for his turn, we finally headed out, unsure of whether we would return. We decided not to make a decision that day, as we were both feeling pretty worn out. We’ll go back one more time and decide if we are going to become a baseball family. Here, the sports go year-round. So, there is not a baseball season and then a soccer season. If we join, we are ‘all in’.
Hot and sweaty, we hopped into a taxi and went straight to a dumpling making class! (Well, Jackson sat in the other room playing video games while attended class.)
It was so much fun! We stuffed and rolled and folded each dumpling with loving care. We packaged ours to bring home and enjoyed the professionally made ones – hot out of the steamer. She had a variety of chicken, shrimp, and pork dumplings for us to sample – and lots of sauces too.
They lady giving the classes lived in the U.S. for a few years before returning to Indonesia. She was full of personality and shared her story of how she started and is now continuing to grow her business. We all left feeling good: with full tummies and the knowledge that we supported a female entrepreneur.
It has been around 90 degrees Fahrenheit with high humidity almost every day. We have a few dehumidifiers at home that need to be emptied several times a day.
We are happy in our house, although it is still quite empty. Our shipments are not expected to arrive for weeks, if not months. I have a full-sized refrigerator as well as an upright freezer. I am thankful to have a full-sized oven, with a gas stove top. Jackson and I made chocolate chip cookies this weekend, to welcome new neighbors. It was a bit of a challenge without measuring cups, a mixer, or cookie sheets…but we managed – and the cookies came out delicious! (This was a service project for cub scouts)
Cookies to welcome our new neighbors
Many things here are ‘app-driven’ – from ordering a taxi to having groceries delivered, so I’ve been working to set up all the apps on my phone. I’ve even worked out how to transfer money so that I don’t have to carry so much cash with me. At the office, I scan a QR code with my phone and pay for coffee or lunch automatically. It’s pretty cool! I’ve even ordered Starbucks and McDonalds on the app, and they delivered right to my door – and the cups are sealed with plastic, so no drinks are spilled!
McDonalds Delivered!
The traffic really is as bad as they say it is – especially when it rains! It took 3 hours to travel 7 miles! Taxis were stuck in the traffic, so there were none available to pick me up. I ended up taking a tuk tuk to a local mall, hoping the taxis would be more plentiful. They were not. It was an experience that I do not wish to repeat any time soon! A few days later, I heard that children were stuck on the school bus for hours in the traffic. Luckily, Jackson was not one of them.
Tuk Tuk in the rain
Overall, things are going well. We are finding our way and starting to feel settled.
