December was a whirlwind!

December was quite the busy month for us in Jakarta.  There didn't seem to be a free night, weekend, or afternoon anywhere.  January is starting in similar fashion, so I'll give a brief summary today and circle back with pictures next week.

 

Illness.  The Flagyl worked and I hope I never take it again.  It wrecked me.  Tired, nauseous, constant headaches - it was almost worse than the disease it was curing.  Once I finished the cycle, I then had to fight a bacterial infection with a different set of antibiotics for another week.  If I ever find the food preparer who didn't wash his or her hands before cooking my food, I'm going to force them to wash their hands until the crack and bleed.

 

Events and more events.  My daughter had her end of semester Christmas program.  I always enjoy watching my kids perform on stage.  Proud is an understatement.  As long as she's having fun doing it, we'll always be there to watch.  I could do without some of the other kids, though....especially the ones that like to draw attention away from my daughter!  Are those other parents really there to watch their own kids??

 

When school completed for the term, we hopped on a plane for a four-day relaxing vacation in Singapore.  Only it wasn't that relaxing.  They almost didn't let us out of Jakarta, and then they almost didn't let us out of Singapore.  Why?  Because my wife's passport expires in May.  Singapore requires six months eligibility to enter the country.  The airline wasn't going to allow us to board the flight, but in the end, decided to allow it.  Singapore immigration didn't even mention it.  Same problem leaving Singapore, only this time, I had to spend forty minutes convincing them that because we were Jakarta residents with resident visas it wouldn't be an issue.  Indonesian immigration didn't care, either - but I had someone from my office meet us there to help grease the wheels a little.  The trip itself wasn't that great, either.  It rained non-stop the entire four days we were there.  Thankfully the hotel - Rasa Sentosa - had a kid's club.  Our daughter enthusiastically spent all four days there while we tried to entertain the two boys.

 

When we returned, we had several dinners and events to attend.  First was a going away party.  Two expat couples are transitioning.  One is taking a job with the United Nations in Kuala Lumpur, the other is taking a job in another city in Indonesia.  At the party, we thought they would both be leaving Jakarta, but it turns out the one taking a job in another city will be able to continue living where he does today and just commute.  That was good news.  After that party was a dinner party with my staff and their spouses.  This is an annual event we do around the holidays each year.  The next day was our 8th wedding anniversary.  We finally broke our fondue tradition and instead ate at a French restaurant far too pricey for the size of the food (which means it was a typical French restaurant).  We were one of two tables so service was impeccable.

 

A few days after Christmas, my wife's cousin arrived for a two week visit.  We made the requisite trip to Taman Safari the next day, followed by a tour of the famous historical sites in Jakarta the following day.  We're now capable of being tour guides if anyone else wants to use our services.

 

Holidays.  Of course the major events of the past few weeks were Christmas and New Year's.  Santa paid us a visit and left behind hours of work for daddy and days of fun for the kids.  I don't know why Santa bought our two year old a drum, but I'll have to be move involved in HER gift selection process next year.  That thing is loud.

 

For New Year's Eve, we originally planned to host a party at our house.  When we couldn't get enough people to confirm in advance, we instead decided to get a suite at the Shangri-La in Jakarta and go to one of the events they were hosting.  Another couple joined us.  Then another.  Then another.  Eventually, my reservation grew to 19 people.  I informed them we all could have saved a bundle of money if they had just confirmed attendance at our party.  We still had a great time.  The food was excellent, the band was phenomenal, and the companionship of friends was the best.  We finally returned to our rooms at 2 AM....only to wake with the kids at 5:30 the next morning.  Ugh!  Sunday afternoon naps are awesome.