Being that this is the most populous Muslim country in the world we were pretty sure that Christmas was not high on the list of celebrations. How surprised were we when we walk into the Indonesian version of Macy's and hear "Silent Night" blaring? The best part was that some of the songs are in English and some are in Bahasa. You can recognize the tune but something is not quite right. The look Kathi and I gave each other was definitely one of surprise. Indonesian stores lay music non-stop much like back in the States however they believe the louder the better here. It was a little surreal to see all of these women in birka head coverings walking around while and having "Oh, Little Town of Bethlehem" booming in the background.
Not only were the songs playing, there were employees walking around in Santa hats and Christmas sales galore. Merry Christmas signs and lights. After going through Ramadan which was a pretty solemn scene this was quite interesting.
My favorite part was listening to "Let it Snow" knowing full well that there was no hope of that happening. I was talking to one of our drivers and he said for the equivalent of $3 they have a snow room you can go into. They set it up at the mall about a week before Christmas. It gives these folks a chance to experience making a snowball and snowman for themselves. Pretty neat considering it is 90 degrees outside!
On another note, we are about 12 days away from heading home for Christmas break. We are all very excited to get back home and see our friends and family. Seeing our dog, Ember and cat, Boonie are high on our list as well. We hope you are all having a great holiday season! Selamat Natal! (Merry Christmas)
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