First Christmas in Indonesia

It's 2 days after Christmas and I still don't feel like it's already happened! haha I guess that's what happens when you live in a place that feels like July year round! This Christmas was a lot different, but it was really great!! Christmas Eve, I attended a church service and then went back to Lisa & Danny's house and stayed there to ring in Christmas Day with them. We woke up, opened some gifts, had a really special, delicious breakfast(thanks to Lisa!) and enjoyed the day. Even though it's more of a Thanksgiving tradition, later that day I even got to play a game of football!! It was a blast!!
I know I've said this before, but the Pierce's have definitely become like family here and I am so grateful for the way they graciously open their home and include me in their family. Thank you guys for making Christmas so special!
The day before Christmas, I received a package from my sister and Christmas night I got to skype with her as I opened it. I know it's not cheap to send a package, so thank you, Katie, for sending that! It was so special to receive it and to be able to open it with you.

It was full of special treats from the States...it was fun to open!

Being in another country, it's funny how little things that are out of the ordinary become so special:
- During breakfast, we ate french toast casserole(with real maple syrup!!) and even had bacon...I savored every little bite...and almost licked the plate clean :)
- While opening a gift from the Pierce's I opened to see a box of pasta, and got really excited! To that Lisa laughed and explained they only used it as a box, but there's something else in there
- Opening up the package from my sister and getting really excited to open deodorant and vitamins...Imagine how excited I got when I saw the peppermint chocolates and christmas candles!! :)

This Christmas was so special, and not just because of the gifts, talking to family, or eating great food. It was special to take time to reflect on what Christmas is all about. The birth of Jesus that has changed the world for eternity and has impacted my life forever. As I have sang Christmas songs and reread the story of Jesus this season, I have been filled with thankfulness to Jesus, who came to Earth, lived and served those around Him, died for our sins and then overcame death. In a world filled with sadness, uncertainty, and darkness, I am very grateful to be able to celebrate the One that gives Hope.

Christmas Fun in Batu!

A few days before Christmas, my friend, Widya, invited me to go with her to her home in Batu(45 minutes from Malang). She invited me to come to the Christmas service her church was having. We left Thursday morning, spent the day at her family's house and then went to the service later that night. It was fun to experience the service at her church. They had dancing, singing and a sermon. I was all ready to see how much of the sermon I could understand. As the pastor spoke, I was feeling really discouraged because I only understood maybe 10% of what he said. I quickly realized he wasn't speaking in Indonesian...it was Javanese(another local language on the island of Java)! That made me so relieved to know that it wasn't because my Indonesian is horrible...although it would have been nice to understand the sermon :)

Widya with her little cousin...she is such a cutie!!

We went on a little walk around her grandfather's house. It was absolutely beautiful! And...Batu is cooler(temp. wise) than Malang. As they would say here...Enak!

At first she was really shy and afraid of me, but she warmed up a little...I think because I had a camera :)

At the service the kids sang during worship, too.

They were soooooo cute!!!

There were also two little girls who did a traditional dance in traditional dress. I wish it were a better picture! They were really good!

It was so fun to spend more time with Widya, meet her family and friends, and see where her home is! Thanks for inviting and including me, Widya! :)

Christmas Fun with Friends

It's almost Christmas and with the weather and surroundings here, it hard to remember it's December! I've really enjoyed celebrating the Christmas season here and have even been able to do some favorite traditions, like watching Elf, decorating Christmas cookies and listening to music. The best part has been being able to do some fun traditions with new friends here. Last week, Lisa and I invited my friends from my kos to Lisa and Danny's house for dinner and to decorate Christmas cookies, something that's very common here :). It was a blast!! I think the girls had more fun being entertained by Mary and Luke :), but it seemed like they had fun decorating too!

This was pretty typical the whole night...Mary or Luke in the middle of all the girls :) The entertainment for the night!

Mary and her biggest fan, Icha :)

The girls with all the goods for decorating...yum!

It was so funny watching Mary decorate the cookies...she liked using all the colors, at once :)

Abhe & Pungky with their masterpieces!

The crew in front of the Christmas tree...Merry Christmas from Indonesia!

New Food Friday--Putu

One of the more unique things about Indonesia is the way they sell food. Sometimes they sell food on something called "kaki limas," which comes from the fact someone(2 legs) is pushing a cart that has 3 legs(5 legs :)). They sell anything from Bakso to sate to something called putu. This week's new food is called "putu." It's a steamed ball of rice with brown sugar in the middle and with coconut sprinkled on the outside. It's delicious!!!

This is what they look like when they're cooking. They steam in little pipes on the cart.

And the finished product...so yummy!!

This new food is one of my new favorites! Definitely a good find :)

New Food Friday...

My new food for Friday isn’t exactly what I was thinking of trying this week, but I was at the grocery store here and every time, I pass by this new product and every time it makes me laugh. After the 10^th time passing by it, I decided to give them a try. Onion cookies…not exactly the first thing I would think of to combine, but ya never know. Heck, it managed to get manufactured, right?

Well, I tried it and it’s almost as bad as the name sounds. Looks like a cookie, tastes like an onion. Sad to say, I couldn’t even finish one cookie.

A Trip to the Pasar(Market)...

One thing I've wanted to explore more of are the markets in Malang. There's an abundance of outdoor markets that sell various things, some that are daily and also one that only happens on Sunday. One of the markets that people here go to all the time to buy what they need is "Pasar Besar." It's an indoor market where about 100 vendors sell everything from clothing to foods and spices to kitchen items. I went this past Saturday with a couple friends and am determined to go more often. Some things are a lot cheaper there than stores. It's also a great opportunity to practice language! :) Some of the things people say sometimes really make me laugh...I came away with a quote of the day from this trip. Almost daily, someone will comment on my height(it's just expected living in a country where the average height of a woman is 4'10''). But Saturday at the market I walked by 2 women sitting down and one of them just stared at me and said "Wah, besarrrrrrr!" which is translated to "Whoa, big!" Thanks...really know how to make a girl feel great! :)

These green beans were so cool looking! Not sure what they're called...

Sharon mastering her skills at bargaining :)

I started smelling something and then we turned the corner and saw all the meat. Never seen anything like it!

Not sure if you can tell, but this guy sells spices by whatever amount you want. It smelled soooooo good! A nice change after the meat section.

On the way home, it started pouring out(almost daily occurrence now during rainy season)...me sporting my poncho :)

A Saturday Morning Adventure!

One thing I've been making an effort to do since being in Indonesia is finding and writing down things that I love about here. That way when I get homesick, instead of focusing on what I miss about Boston, I can think about things that I love about Indonesia. I want to be able to love things about my new home, too. :) So far I have found some great things I love about Indonesia. There is so much to do in Malang, because it's a city, but sometimes I really miss being outside in the fresh air and open space. One thing I love is that 15 minutes outside the city are hills and farms. This morning I went on a joyride with my friend, Faith, out of Malang. We drove on a road toward one of the mountains and within 15 minutes were surrounded by farms and rice paddies.

Here are a couple views from along the way as we drove...it's too hazy to really see Malang, but it's down there!

As we kept driving, we even hit orange orchards!! The flowers blooming on the trees smelt amazing too!

Where we stopped before turning around...we could've kept going forever! A little pic of the mountains in the background.

Me at the top on my ride. "I get 70 miles to a gallon on this hog"...Dumb & Dumber anyone? :)