My gift to the family was a collection of photo albums with all the pics of Nina & me together that I have taken over 4 months. Toss in a few shirts from Sumatra & material to make a traditional kebaya for Nina.
Through the traditional present-opening hours of the day, I was curled up on the guest bed, re-charging my sleep batteries. (=

Personally, I don’t need a freshly cut evergreen or carefully wrapped presents to feel Christmas cheer. It was enough to be among friends.
It was a little surreal, sitting on the couch, half bored, watching Sinetron soap operas on Christmas day in small-town Cepu,,, but really- there weren’t many options. That’s fine.

Later, when dad got home, we kicked around some of our favorite subjects (politics, Indonesian history, and current events) while Nina & her mom’s eyes glazed over, and they politely excused themselves to watch TV in the other room (=
(I must be making a mixed impression. Ha ha)

Later, we walked among all the neighbors homes to say hello, eat their snacks & offer Merry Christmas wishes. (= Turns out the neighbors to the right are Catholics & the ones on the left are Protestant. Karaoke was up & running in the first house! Talent is not a pre-requisite for blasting out your favorite tunes (= ha ha. I think that’s how I got invited.