Before we left for this adventure I talked to a lot of people who have been posted overseas. A lot of them would mention their "overseas family" in conversation. And in my head I was thinking..."what the heck is an overseas family?" I get it now.
This year we were fortunate to spend our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with our Jakarta family (minus 2 who took a trip back to US). Christmas Eve was hosted at our favorite Chinese Restaurant, Din Tai Fung. Ever tried a soup dumpling before? Yummy goodness. It's like our equivalent to Peking Duck Gourmet back in the states. And thank you to Clare, we now all have t-shirts uniting our love for Din Tai Fung...
 |
| Gaby (modeling her I love Din Tai Fung t-shirt) and Clare |
After dinner we went to the Grand Hyatt for Christmas caroling and group pictures next to the Xmas Tree.
 |
| Mike (the blinker), Gaby, Clare, Me, and Brian |
Speaking of Christmas decorations... both Brian and I were shocked how much Christmas is celebrated in this Muslim country. Malls are packed, Christmas music is played, and Santa Claus is present. One of my favorite Christmas trees was made out of orchids. Both the sight and small of the tree were lovely.
Just some more pictures of our fun Christmas Eve in Jakarta...
 | ||
| Our sign we made for our two friends back in the States for Christmas. |
 |
| The Ladies (Me, Clare, and Gaby) |
Oh, and when we got home we discovered that a certain someone had located his Christmas gifts under our Charlie Brown Christmas Tree and were taking them off the table one by one...
and then he had to take a Christmas Eve "time-out"...
