Monday, 17 April 2006 @ 9:35am. Happy Easter! I attended a Catholic mass on Saturday evening with a couple of friends. I was surprised, though probably shouldn’t have been, that there was a high level of security surrounding the event. For example, I saw two dogs - one Golden Retriever and one German Shepard mix (which is rare to see in general anyway) - at the entrance and security also checked bags. As a bit of background, the church was attacked a few years ago during Christmas, hence the present concern and strict security procedures. The church is part of a junior high school. The school itself is composed of around 70% Chinese (minority group in Indonesia) and 30% various other ethnic groups.

The service was actually held in the school’s auditorium since the church was too small to accomodate everyone. My friends estimated that more than 500 people attended the mass. The auditorium was packed and therefore very hot (no AC!), but the service was beautiful. Three hours, too, but beautiful! :) I really liked the part where everyone lit each others’ small candles and the part where the junior high school band played “modern” music (e.g., “You Raise Me Up” and “I Will Follow Him”). I commented, “This is the most rockin’ mass I’ve ever been to.” :) I also found it interesting that even though I didn’t understand all of the Indonesian since there were many formal religious terms, I was able to follow quite well given that Catholic masses usually follow the same format.

Yesterday, I went to Easter brunch with my friends and some new acquaintences at Hotel Mid-Plaza Intercontinental’s Java Restaurant. The spread was great. I especially liked the roasted vegetables, french bread and butter, and desserts. We also had a really nice time sharing stories.