It’s difficult to write back in time but I’ve been asked for updates. Since Christmas, there were two visits to Ice & Snow World, once with school, and the second time with Kat, Michele, and Neggie. The first visit I spent running around with Jacki, Kamel, Marco, and Giuseppe, who was very diligent about taking photos. I’m glad someone took the responsibility because it was one of the coldest evenings I’ve ever experienced in my life and my fingers were not so enthusiastic about taking pictures. Also, Giuseppe stuck his tongue to the ice, just to see what would happen.
For New Year’s, we got a day off → long weekend. It was already past 11pm New Year’s Eve and I was hanging out with Sukyoung in Jenny’s room (Jenny had ditched us for the Mongolian party and Anuka was straightening her hair) and I still had no idea how I was celebrating the new year. Daniel and I ended up celebrating with our Russian classmates on the seventh floor in Oleg’s (not prounounced O-leg, who knew?) room. I adore them. Christmas (whether Gregorian or Orthodox/Julian) is not so important to Russians for at New Year’s there is a tree and there are gifts and Santa and food and toasts and general merriment throughout the night. I was very happy to be invited.
I left relatively early, around half past three, but I do believe they stayed up to watch the sun rise. Twelve hours later I hate to pick up Kat & Co. at the train station to begin a whirlwind 48 hour tour of Harbin’s winter highlights, including two ice sculpture exhibitions. It was the coldest weekend of the coldest winter in 20 years across China, but especially in Harbin: all in all, a great weekend to visit. Thank goodness for the driver – the father of one of the students at Kat and Michele’s school is a native of Harbin and hooked us up with a driver for Saturday and Sunday and paid for a very nice lunch of 东北菜 northeastern cuisine.
After that weekend, the three weeks that followed were marked by departures and finals. First Seth, then Liza, and Sukyoung. I aced all my finals except for the awul 视听说 audiovisual class but eh, 无所谓 whatever. Kamel left early and skipped his final final. After finals, Martyna, Justyna, and Magda had us all over to their new place. The next day, Marco left. We went to Fox and Coco one last time and then Jenny left. I had breakfast with Daniel and Kate at the Sofitel Saturday morning, and later we went bowling with Dasha, Zhenlan, and Giuseppe, followed by a relatively intimate KTV session, and at 5am on Sunday, Daniel and Giuseppe left. The Koreans gradually disappeared and I actually already miss my 同坐 seatmate Kyongju. Next semester won’t be the same without her. I must begin to send some emails.
My last three days in Harbin I spent running around getting my paperwork in order. On Tuesday Jacki and I had coffee with Kate at Hamama’s and 饺子 jiaozi for dinner with Martyna, Justyna, and Jun at Jiaozi Wang (“Dumpling King”). Wednesday, we had coffee with Andi at Rear Window (I probably won’t have a better latte in China) and that evening we were picked up by a sketchy van (the kind you get kidnapped in) that took us to the train station on our way to Beijing.
