Event popular . . . that shouldn't miss!

"Event popular Malaysian Style fragrant spices chicken curry that shouldn't miss!"

That was the description on the menu for a Malay Chicken Curry dish that I ate on Saturday. What does that even mean? All I know is that it must mean that it's good because it was. I also had a drink called "Ambula" that I had no idea before I got it or after I tasted it what it was made of. To me it tasted like a cross between a green pepper and the skin of an apple in the form of a thick juice. Pretty refreshing actually. I found out it is made from a fruit of a different name. I am including a couple of pictures from an interesting food Web site that has a recipe for it.

There were a few other things this week that I would also classify as "Event popular, that shouldn't miss!"

Some of you will be happy to know that I finally got a haircut. I was really concerned about getting one here because I like it a certain way so it has been since the beginning of August. It was long and bushy, but now looks nice and trim again. This young, hip-looking Indonesian guy who was wearing a side bag with his cutting equipment in it cut it for me and did a good job. Oh, and they washed my hair at the beginning and the end of the haircut. Nice.

This week for work I got to go to Jakarta for a couple of days to make connections with people in the Embassy and take a look at how they do things there. I always love to get to know a little about a new place. Jakarta is a huge city and it takes a long time to get anywhere. I was glad I got to go do consultations there. I saw a lot of people I know and met others I only had heard of. I stayed in a cool hotel and had dinner with some friends. Definitely "that shouldn't miss!"

Another big thing was hearing back about my next assignment. I will be going to Moscow for my next post with a couple of months training back in DC. I and my whole family are excited about it. In a way it's kind of nice (and fairly unusual in my line of work) to know where I am going to be for the next 4-5 years. We don't have to think about that much at all and can enjoy this post and Indonesia for all it has to offer and know that we are going to get a different experience with the next post.

Any of you who were thinking of visiting us, please don't wait until Moscow. Visit us both places!
We will try to make sure it is event popular that shouldn't miss!