Christmas vacation

I just wanted to give you a picture of how we are passing the time for our Christmas vacation. We haven't ventured far from home. Normally, we would go to the big city, Surabaya, two hours north of us for a few days. This year, we're saving the money and doing things just in Malang.

On Saturday, we went bowling, even though the kids have to roll the ball granny style. Notice the Greco-Roman ruins on the wall. It's like going bowling at the Coliseum.

Then we stopped in at a wedding reception over in P-town. Pak Mardyono above is the community leader for about 700 families in this part of P-town, where we have the learning center. His son got married last week and they held a reception for the couple on Saturday.

Receptions in Indonesia can be lightening quick. Often times you're only invited to the reception, as the ceremony is for close friends and family. We showed up, had our pictures taken with the bride and groom, went through the buffet line - for some fried rice, sweet and sour fish, chicken, vegetables with "hot dogs", and then went on our merry way all in about 40 minutes. If they had been close friends, we probably would have stayed longer. This reception was more like an open house.

Then we topped off the day with a hot cup of European style hot chocolate. Because of Dutch rule in the early 1900's, there are many cultural holdovers from that era. This is one of them, and, mmm-mmm, are we glad for that.