Christmas in Bandung

"What's it like over there at Christmas?" we've asked our friends who live in Indonesia.

"Christians go to a church service!" they all agree.

Though the country is mostly Muslim, many Indonesians have embraced the practice of resting, vacationing, and spending time with family during this season at the end of the year.

The lobby at the Hilton Bandung

Malls and hotels capitalize on tourist and local trade with decorations, special sales, and guest events. There aren't a lot of nativity scenes, but you can count on secular decorations: Santas, baubles, presents, and window displays. So ... Christmas in parts of Bandung looks similar to celebrations in the big cities of North America.

Of course, Bandung boasts palm trees and tropical downpours rather than fir trees and snow blizzards. There probably is more nasi goreng (fried rice) than turkey for Christmas dinner. And short sleeves and sandals are more common than winter parkas, snows skis, and warm boots.

We'll have a lot of adjusting to culture and environment, but how we look forward to our next Christmas - in Bandung!

Where in the world is Bandung?

The simplest way to describe the place where we're going to language school is to spin the globe to the lower right of Asia. Islands dangle below the bulk of China and cruise the ocean between India and Australia. The longest east-to-west island is Java, Indonesia. A fourth from the left, smack in the middle (north to south) of Java, lies Bandung. It's surrounded by volcanos. in hill country.

"You're so lucky to be going there," say Indonesians. "It's cooler than Jakarta and Singapore." It gets down to 66oF some nights and days are in the 80s and high 70s. I'll take a few sweaters for those cold nights. And maybe I'll be able to wear the shoes I abandoned for my month of flip-flops in Singapore.

There's also a lot of rain. Growing up in Chilliwack, a BC valley town surrounded by coastal mountains, I should feel at home. Actually, I hate rain and dark clouds overhead. But everyone assures me that the sun comes out most days. And the rain is warm, unlike the icy downpours of SW Canada. Whew.

We first heard of Bandung in March this year. Now we're bumping into people from there at every turn. Yesterday we picked up a table from CL couple. The wife is indonesian, and her sister is at a Bandung university. A gal on the video capture team at NU comes from Bandung. Etc.

When we decided to go in March, people asked us if we were excited. Ummm, maybe not right away. There's too much to leave behind. Now our anticipation is building with every encounter and each conversation.