Year One
Trip 1 {August 2011}: Bali
Trip 1 {August 2011}: Bali
Our first trip to Bali we packed everything in. I remember being so thrilled to see the blue sky and just relax and not think about work. We went with Chris and Katie and also met up with our friend Kaitlyn a few times.
Highlights: Seeing the Indian ocean for the first time, making the first of many wonderful CAKE memories (favorite of the trip: Katie and I laughing hysterically at our husbands attempting to catch a gecko-aka klotok), McDonald's delivered poolside, bike riding through Ubud, snorkeling for the first time, and many romantic dinners at sunset on the beach.
Trip 2 {November 2011}: Roslin Orphanage in Kupang, West Timur, Indonesia
For this holiday, we had the wonderful opportunity to visit an orphanage with 8 other teachers from our school. We took them supplies they were in need of but spent a majority of the time just hanging out with kiddos and helping around the orphanage. It was one of those wonderful, and yet at the same time, sad experiences. Leaving was super hard, but I am so thankful we were able to go. Indonesian orphans will always have a very special place in my heart.
Highlights: Hanging out with baby Joel (pictured), teaching the kids to sing He Knows My Name and other worship songs, rocking precious babies to sleep, and watching the kiddos fall in love with Erik.
Trip 3 {December 2011}: Singapore
For our first Christmas holiday (before Christmas itself) we ventured over to the one and only Singapore. It was our first time out of Indonesia, and we were a little bit excited about it. We have visited Singapore 2 more times since then - we LOVE it! For this trip, we were able to meet up many days with our friends Ben and Taryn. I will never forget being able to speak to a waitress in English and have her understand me for the first time in about 5 months.
Highlights: Fresh air, Universal studios, the Singapore Zoo and the Night Safari (even in the rain it was still wonderful), and Chili's!!!
Trip 4 {December 2011}: Borneo
After we came back from Singapore, we celebrated Christmas at home in Jakarta, and then we set off an adventure like no other down a river on the island of Borneo/Kalimantan. We went with Chris & Katie, our friends Sam and Heather and their kiddos, as well some teachers from another SPH school. We sailed down the river for 3 nights and saw lots of orangutans, monkeys, birds, and lots of cool plants. It was definitely an adventure we will never forget!
Highlights: Seeing orangutans up close and personal, playing card games on the boat (jungle speed!!), the breeze from cruising down the river, and lots of great chill time with Chris, Katie, Sam and Heather. One of Erik's favorite memories was taking a jungle shower in the rain! :)
Trip 5 {April 2012}: Turkey and Greece
This is probably one of our favorite trips. It was so hard to choose just a few pictures because everything we did, saw, and experienced was amazing. We heard from our friend Kailtlyn (who also went on the trip) that a teacher from another SPH campus was going to lead this trip- so we jumped right in on the opportunity! We spent the week following Paul's 2nd missionary journey including places like Istanbul, Antioch, Colossae, Corinth, and Athens.
Highlights: It's so hard to choose just a few but here goes .. feeling the fresh air that was so cold and wonderful it chapped my lips, wearing a sweater and scarf for the first time in 8 months, Turkish food, hearing Dan preach from a passage in the Bible while we are sitting in the place the story actually occurred, did I say fresh air already??, making more memories with Chris & Katie which include "sneaking" out to stick our feet in/swim in the Mediterranean Sea and celebrating Erik's birthday in Greece at a restaurant with a view of the Parthenon, and laughing so hard on the way back to the hotel (for no real reason at all) we were crying.
Year Two
Trip 0 {July 2012}: Narita, Japan
It doesn't really count as a "trip" so that is why I called it 0. But, it is still worth mentioning because we actually got outside of the airport on our way back to Jakarta from the US at the end of the summer. We (with Chris and Katie) explored the city (well one street) of Narita (an outlying city near Tokyo). We enjoyed some yummy Japanese food, I got to drink some Dr. Pepper, and we were able to have a good nights sleep and caught up on jet lag before getting thrown back into the busyness of work.
Trip 1 {August 2012}: Back to Bali again!
Since we loved Bali so much, we decided to go back again for the Lebaron holiday. This time, we brought more friends! Chris, Katie, Glenn, Gretchen (new friends who had just moved to Jakarta), and our friend Madi (who I knew from Corban who had also just moved to Jakarta). Since we had been to Bali before, we enjoyed a lot of relaxing by the pool. But we were also able to enjoy some things we didn't get to see before like the lake temple. We love sharing new memories with great friends!
Highlights: Relaxing by the pool, yummy food and drinks, enjoying a coconut with Erik at the ocean temple at sunset, a sweaty but memorable trip in the back of a "truck" to Ubud.
Trip 2 {October 2012}: Vietnam and Singapore
For this holiday, we explored a new place and revisited Singapore. This trip was especially special because we went with Chris and Katie AND Jordan (Erik's brother)!! Jordan came and visited us for the month of October and he was able to join us and we were thrilled to travel with him! We packed a lot in to our visit. We visited the city of Hanoi, cruised (on a lot nicer boat the the one in Indo) down Halong Bay, and ended our time with a quick visit to Singapore.
Highlights: Getting to travel and explore a new place with family, Halong Bay (everything about it), laughing at the boys singing karaoke on the boat, eating at a rooftop restaurant in Hanoi with Erik and Jordan and laughing so hard, Quiznos and Subway in Singapore!
Trip 3 {December 2012}: Australia
This was one of our favorite trips (probably a tie with Turkey/Greece). Again, it was hard to choose just a few pictures because it was all SO amazing. We (along with our favorite travel buddies, Chris and Katie) spent close to 3 weeks exploring this wonderful place. We visited Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide. We were blessed in each place to have friends to stay with. We were in Adelaide (with our friends, the Cheeseman's) for Christmas and we were so thankful to be spending the holiday with a family! It was also cool to celebrate Christmas during the "summer".
Highlights: Fresh air and blue sky, seeing the Opera House, lots and lots of yummy food and drinks, the blue mountains, seeing the Stafford's, eating lunch outside a cafe on a cool side street in Melbourne, driving down the Great Ocean Road, Christmas with the Cheeseman's - they made us feel like family, and seeing lots of beautiful beaches.
Trip 4 {May 2013}: Thailand
Thailand was my favorite Asian country that we visited. I loved the people, the sights, and the food. We traveled with our wonderful friend Lindsey (who I miss SO much) and our friend, Kris, who was visiting from the US- SO fun! This trip we visited Bangkok and Chaing Mai. We visited lots of interesting temples, ate lots of yummy food, sweated A LOT, and relaxed at our awesome hotel.
Highlights: Eating street food and enjoying coconut ice cream on Khao San Road in Bangkok, LOTS of laughing, beautiful sunsets, relaxing by our pool, our sweet hotel receptionist, and riding an elephant for the first time!
Trip 5 {May 2013}: Bali & Yogyakarta
Later in May, we had a long weekend so the girls took a trip to Bali to celebrate 2 of the girls who were getting married and also to say "see ya later" to some girls who were moving back to the US. While we were at the beach, Erik, Chris, and Glenn traveled to Yogyakarta to hike an active volcano! We both loved our time with our friends! :)
Highlights (for me): Bike riding (again) with matching shirts, movie marathons in the hotel, breakfast by the beach, relaxing by the pool, and a fun, yummy, "fancy" dinner out.
Year Three
Trip 1 {August 2013}: Lombok, Indonesia
Surprise! We actually didn't visit Bali again this time for the Lebaron holiday ... but pretty much. Lombok is an island off of Bali that we had heard many people say is a nicer, less crowded version of Bali- and they were right! After visiting, we were bummed we hadn't found this hidden gem of a place before! This time we traveled with Chris, Katie, Glenn, Gretchen, and Mike and Meg (friends from Oregon who had just moved to Jakarta). We spent a lot of time relaxing by our huge pool, laying out on the beach, snorkeling (a much better experience than before), and of course had lots of yummy food and drinks.
Highlights: Our hotel, snorkeling - we saw lots of cool fish and coral - the water was so blue, cramming 8 people + a driver + suitcases into a 8 passenger car with very little trunk space, and getting my tan on!
Trip 2 {October 2013}: Tokyo
This trip was very special to us because it was the first trip that we actually took just us. Not that we don't love traveling with friends, but we were excited to get our of Jakarta just ourselves and enjoy our most favorite place- Disneyland!! Other than visiting Disney (which is what we did for 3 of the days), we explored the city of Tokyo (which I loved). The city was so organized and clean - and the food was delicious!
Highlights: Sipping a Chai Tea Latte outside while wearing a sweater, the weather, Disney (everything about it), Fantasmic, and getting to spend some quality time with my favorite person on earth.
Trip 3 {December 2013}: Thailand, again
When trying to decide where to go for this Christmas holiday, we had a lot of options, but decided to return to Thailand! We did some of the same things (in Bangkok) but also had lots of new adventures like staying in a Bungalow in the mountains, visiting beautiful waterfalls, riding elephants, rafting down a river, and exploring the quaint city of Chaing Mai on our own motor bike. This time we traveled with Mike, Meg, Stephen, and Madi.
Highlights: Ummm riding an elephant bare back, view from our bungalow porch, sweating a lot less than when we visited in May, and a breakfast date every morning in Chiang Mai with just my hubby and me.
Trip 4 {April 2014}: Paris
Another one of our favorite trips that will be hard to top. We were blessed with the opportunity to lead/chaperon a trip of grade 8-11 art students to Paris. Even though we were "working", it was still a great break and we were able to see so many places and we enjoyed spending time with each other and the students.
Highlights: Eiffel Tower, Versailles, Monet's Garden, the weather, the blue sky, the food, Disneyland, and hanging out with some pretty cool students! :)
Phew! If you're still with me- glad you hung in there! I am overwhelmed with thankfulness as I reflect on all of the wonderful places we have been blessed to see throughout our time here. Traveling will definitely be something we will both miss about living overseas and we will always treasure this special time in our lives. Thank you Lord!
Trip 0 {July 2012}: Narita, Japan
It doesn't really count as a "trip" so that is why I called it 0. But, it is still worth mentioning because we actually got outside of the airport on our way back to Jakarta from the US at the end of the summer. We (with Chris and Katie) explored the city (well one street) of Narita (an outlying city near Tokyo). We enjoyed some yummy Japanese food, I got to drink some Dr. Pepper, and we were able to have a good nights sleep and caught up on jet lag before getting thrown back into the busyness of work.
Trip 1 {August 2012}: Back to Bali again!
Since we loved Bali so much, we decided to go back again for the Lebaron holiday. This time, we brought more friends! Chris, Katie, Glenn, Gretchen (new friends who had just moved to Jakarta), and our friend Madi (who I knew from Corban who had also just moved to Jakarta). Since we had been to Bali before, we enjoyed a lot of relaxing by the pool. But we were also able to enjoy some things we didn't get to see before like the lake temple. We love sharing new memories with great friends!
Highlights: Relaxing by the pool, yummy food and drinks, enjoying a coconut with Erik at the ocean temple at sunset, a sweaty but memorable trip in the back of a "truck" to Ubud.
Trip 2 {October 2012}: Vietnam and Singapore
For this holiday, we explored a new place and revisited Singapore. This trip was especially special because we went with Chris and Katie AND Jordan (Erik's brother)!! Jordan came and visited us for the month of October and he was able to join us and we were thrilled to travel with him! We packed a lot in to our visit. We visited the city of Hanoi, cruised (on a lot nicer boat the the one in Indo) down Halong Bay, and ended our time with a quick visit to Singapore.
Highlights: Getting to travel and explore a new place with family, Halong Bay (everything about it), laughing at the boys singing karaoke on the boat, eating at a rooftop restaurant in Hanoi with Erik and Jordan and laughing so hard, Quiznos and Subway in Singapore!
Trip 3 {December 2012}: Australia
This was one of our favorite trips (probably a tie with Turkey/Greece). Again, it was hard to choose just a few pictures because it was all SO amazing. We (along with our favorite travel buddies, Chris and Katie) spent close to 3 weeks exploring this wonderful place. We visited Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide. We were blessed in each place to have friends to stay with. We were in Adelaide (with our friends, the Cheeseman's) for Christmas and we were so thankful to be spending the holiday with a family! It was also cool to celebrate Christmas during the "summer".
Highlights: Fresh air and blue sky, seeing the Opera House, lots and lots of yummy food and drinks, the blue mountains, seeing the Stafford's, eating lunch outside a cafe on a cool side street in Melbourne, driving down the Great Ocean Road, Christmas with the Cheeseman's - they made us feel like family, and seeing lots of beautiful beaches.
Trip 4 {May 2013}: Thailand
Thailand was my favorite Asian country that we visited. I loved the people, the sights, and the food. We traveled with our wonderful friend Lindsey (who I miss SO much) and our friend, Kris, who was visiting from the US- SO fun! This trip we visited Bangkok and Chaing Mai. We visited lots of interesting temples, ate lots of yummy food, sweated A LOT, and relaxed at our awesome hotel.
Highlights: Eating street food and enjoying coconut ice cream on Khao San Road in Bangkok, LOTS of laughing, beautiful sunsets, relaxing by our pool, our sweet hotel receptionist, and riding an elephant for the first time!
Trip 5 {May 2013}: Bali & Yogyakarta
Later in May, we had a long weekend so the girls took a trip to Bali to celebrate 2 of the girls who were getting married and also to say "see ya later" to some girls who were moving back to the US. While we were at the beach, Erik, Chris, and Glenn traveled to Yogyakarta to hike an active volcano! We both loved our time with our friends! :)
Highlights (for me): Bike riding (again) with matching shirts, movie marathons in the hotel, breakfast by the beach, relaxing by the pool, and a fun, yummy, "fancy" dinner out.
Year Three
Trip 1 {August 2013}: Lombok, Indonesia
Surprise! We actually didn't visit Bali again this time for the Lebaron holiday ... but pretty much. Lombok is an island off of Bali that we had heard many people say is a nicer, less crowded version of Bali- and they were right! After visiting, we were bummed we hadn't found this hidden gem of a place before! This time we traveled with Chris, Katie, Glenn, Gretchen, and Mike and Meg (friends from Oregon who had just moved to Jakarta). We spent a lot of time relaxing by our huge pool, laying out on the beach, snorkeling (a much better experience than before), and of course had lots of yummy food and drinks.
Highlights: Our hotel, snorkeling - we saw lots of cool fish and coral - the water was so blue, cramming 8 people + a driver + suitcases into a 8 passenger car with very little trunk space, and getting my tan on!
Trip 2 {October 2013}: Tokyo
This trip was very special to us because it was the first trip that we actually took just us. Not that we don't love traveling with friends, but we were excited to get our of Jakarta just ourselves and enjoy our most favorite place- Disneyland!! Other than visiting Disney (which is what we did for 3 of the days), we explored the city of Tokyo (which I loved). The city was so organized and clean - and the food was delicious!
Highlights: Sipping a Chai Tea Latte outside while wearing a sweater, the weather, Disney (everything about it), Fantasmic, and getting to spend some quality time with my favorite person on earth.
Trip 3 {December 2013}: Thailand, again
When trying to decide where to go for this Christmas holiday, we had a lot of options, but decided to return to Thailand! We did some of the same things (in Bangkok) but also had lots of new adventures like staying in a Bungalow in the mountains, visiting beautiful waterfalls, riding elephants, rafting down a river, and exploring the quaint city of Chaing Mai on our own motor bike. This time we traveled with Mike, Meg, Stephen, and Madi.
Highlights: Ummm riding an elephant bare back, view from our bungalow porch, sweating a lot less than when we visited in May, and a breakfast date every morning in Chiang Mai with just my hubby and me.
Trip 4 {April 2014}: Paris
Another one of our favorite trips that will be hard to top. We were blessed with the opportunity to lead/chaperon a trip of grade 8-11 art students to Paris. Even though we were "working", it was still a great break and we were able to see so many places and we enjoyed spending time with each other and the students.
Highlights: Eiffel Tower, Versailles, Monet's Garden, the weather, the blue sky, the food, Disneyland, and hanging out with some pretty cool students! :)
We have also spent time exploring our area over the years. We love exploring Jakarta and the surrounding areas and have come to love many things about this place we have called home for the past 3 years.
Pictures from Bandung, Lippo Karawaci county club (we spent a few 3 day weekends there just relaxing), and Kemang.
Phew! If you're still with me- glad you hung in there! I am overwhelmed with thankfulness as I reflect on all of the wonderful places we have been blessed to see throughout our time here. Traveling will definitely be something we will both miss about living overseas and we will always treasure this special time in our lives. Thank you Lord!
Bye for now <3
PS. I left out our trip to China mainly because it wasn't on a school holiday and because I already have a whole blog dedicated to the trip. If you haven't read it - check it out here: Maria's Big House of Hope
PS. I left out our trip to China mainly because it wasn't on a school holiday and because I already have a whole blog dedicated to the trip. If you haven't read it - check it out here: Maria's Big House of Hope
