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Harbin, China
Right now I am in perhaps one of the coldest places in China...and it isn't that cold, actually -- about 20F, -5C (or so -- I still haven't mastered the conversion). One of the benefits about being a teacher at a Chinese universtiy, though, is that I know people from basically everywhere in China, so if I post on my QQ 'Oh, I'm here at this place' people will immediately tell me, 'oh! I live there, you must come to lunch with me!' or 'Stay with my family!' or 'I worked there, you must see this place...'
And this is relevant because this leg in Harbin, I actually traveled with a friend of mine, whose english name is William, and his uncle lives in Harbin. The first night I was here, actually, he put me up in a hotel room, and has fed me multiple times. I never know what to do when people are that generous, because I'm the honored guest. I've tried giving gifts and asking to take them out to lunch, but everything is always politely refused in that Chinese way. So I guess China is teaching me how to be a gracious guest and recieve the compliment for what it is. It's very much agianst my basic instinct, though. I am too stubborn to always be a good Chinese guest.
Last night William and I went to the Snow and Ice Festival -- where the ticket was 200RMB, expensive, for China; it was worth it though. They had a model of the Empire State Building completely of ice, and also huge snow carvings of tigers (2010 is the year of the tiger) as well as many, many others.
Harbin is worth the trip, definitely. It has been nice to see winter the way it is supposed to be -- cold and snowy!
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