Kate meet Mr. C

Let me give a little backstory of Indonesian history before we begin. Europeans first arrived in Indonesia in the 16th century seeking valuable nutmeg, cloves, and pepper in Maluku. In 1602 the Dutch established the Dutch East India Company, which eventually became the Dutch East Indies. The Dutch continued to expand Indonesian boundaries to its current size and remained in control until the Japanese invaded and occupied in 1942 during World War II. So the Dutch influence on Indonesian culture can be spotted throughout the entire country. One specific influence happens every year in December- Sinterklaas (St. Nick) and his servants 'Zwarte Pieten' (Black Peters) parade around town through neighborhoods waving, passing out candy, and chasing small children. (I'm not sure how the last part fits in, but the local kids love it!... I think.)

** I'm going to add a disclaimer here: We are not bad parents. We are normal parents who laugh at the normalcy of Kate reacting to life.**

It was a normal Saturday in our house. After Kate woke from her nap, we walked to the mall to do some grocery shopping and get lunch. On our way home we saw the truck full of Black Peters on our road. The lead car had a gigantic megaphone mounted on the roof of the car. They would ride around announcing the arrival of Sinterklaas and his servants. St. Nick wasn't ready yet, so we were asking the car full of people and the truckload of servants where he was. The car load of people proved not to be helpful at all because they were distracted with our adorable Kate (and honestly, I can't blame them because this happens to me all. the. time.) The woman that had the power to speak through the megaphone would answer our questions using the microphone, which was very very loud. Actually, now that I think about it, she wasn't answering any of our questions only telling Kate how cute she was and trying to get her attention with the gigantic megaphone. She and her car load were not helpful. Surprisingly, the most helpful was one of the Black Peters. He said Sinterklaas/St. Nick/Santa wasn't ready yet but would be soon. (I'll just say this here. Papuans, who already have black skin paint their faces, necks, arms and anything showing black. They also wear black wigs, even though they have black hair. Black Peters are very intimidating, so it makes sense that its their job to keep track of all children behavior.)

We continued our journey home, when we spotted him. There he was. Putting the finishing touches of his outfit together. We asked for permission to see him before he left to visit other children. There were no lines. Santa wasn't sweaty yet from wearing his cold weather clothes in the tropical heat and humidity of Papua.

Josh got the camera ready.

 I handed Kate to Santa....

and she freaked out. Just like every other baby that sees Santa for the first time.

Making small talk just saying to him." Don't worry if she cries."

The hand off- immediate crying

Making a run for it

 

Fairies are calmed and composed, while Santa practices his "Ho, Ho, Ho"

Loaded up

Still keeping an eye on him in the safe arms of Daddy

The truckload of very helpful, nice Black Peters

 

We bought some Santa hats at the store. I thought it would be fun to take a family photo together. Well, Kate's was way too big. It could cover her whole head, and she kept pulling it off. We did get a few shots that are far from perfect. This is the best one, and in this photo Kate found the inside of her nose. I still think it's great! :)