First Day in Harbin

My trip to Harbin, China began when my friend Isabel called to see if I would like to go there over the three day New Year's break. If you look Harbin up, you will find it way up north close to the Russian border. A quick check on the Internet informed me that the temperature would be between -20 to -25 degrees during our visit. I was a little nervous about going, but decided I probably would never have another opportunity - because none of my other friends are as brave and adventuresome as Isabel. I packed my little suitcase, but on two layers of clothes under my coat, and started the trip. Walking out of the airport was our first clue about how cold we were going to be for the next three days.

The next pictures are from the bus on the way into town.

The fence along the side of the road is made of ice which guided out path into the city.

Harbin was founded by the Russians in 1898. Today it has 10,000,000 and is the tenth largest city in China. It also is one of the coldest cities in China - I can attest to that. It still seems very connected to Russia today. All of the signs are in Chinese and Russian, and even though we saw quite a few foreigners during our three-day stay, we didn't hear English from anyone else.

When the bus arrived in the city, Isabel and I got off to look for our hotel. We had no idea where we were going, but we did see a Holiday Inn and used their bathroom to add another layer of clothes before continuing on our search. We finally reached the hotel, registered and unpacked. We then ventured out to take a look around. It appears to be very late in the evening in the following pictures, but it is really just around 6:00 p.m. The days are not very long in the north. During the Ice Festival, Harbin turns one of their main streets into a walking street and there are many ice sculptures along the way. 

I was surprised how many people were out with us on our cold walk. I am sure all of us were a little crazy. 

 Sorry the night pictures are so dark. I need to get a fancy camera and learn how to take better pictures. Maybe in the next life.

Our hotel was about a block down the street behind this sculpture.

This is how I looked when we got back to the hotel.

Second layer of clothes.

Third layer of clothes.

Fourth layer of clothes. Thank goodness for Walmart long  johns.

Fifth layer of clothes.

All of the clothes I had been wearing.

I took changes of clothes for the three-day trip but ended up putting everything in my suitcase on each day in order to stay warm. I also added two hats, two pairs of gloves and some warm boots. I actually was okay after that - except my hands. I couldn't take pictures with two gloves on, so I would have to pull my hand out to snap the pictures. It only took a few seconds for the hand to be feel like it was totally frozen. I even tried putting some of those little warmers in, and they were good for a little while, but they couldn't counter the freezing cold when the fingers hit the air. If I were to ever do it again, I would get much better gloves, but then again, I don't think I will ever be doing it again.

After a hot cup of water, we settled in for the night. We obviously didn't rent a room in a five-star hotel. It was warmer than outside, but still plenty chilly. Once we added the extra blankets, coats, scarfs, and jackets, we were able to sleep quite comfortably. I can't even imagine what the people did when they settled the town in 1898 and lived in tents. I guess that was the day when animal fur was necessary for survival.

The first day of our adventure came to an end. See you in the morning.

Final Hurrahs for 2012

They don't celebrate Christmas in China, but they do celebrate New Year's Eve on December 31, however, our staff party was on December 27 at a restaurant near our school. We had a wonderful dinner, sang a little karaoke, played a couple of games and enjoyed each others company. I am sorry none of the pictures of the food turned out. I will do a better job next time.

Festive decorations!

Beautiful dinner setting.

The great administrative and teaching staff of our school.

Of course the students couldn't be outdone. They decided to end the semester with a talent show. We have some very talented students, and they all did a great job. We planned on about an hour show, but so many students wanted to perform that it lasted a couple of hours. It was fun to watch the students be so supportive of one another. An interesting side note. The students usually only wear uniforms, and the girls are not allowed to wear any makeup on regular school days. The students were pleasantly surprised at how handsome and beautiful everyone looked for the celebration.

Couldn't find the name of this instrument, but it has many strings just like a harp.

Michael is playing a yehu which only has two strings to make the music.

Many students played the guitar and sang popular songs from the USA. Love Peter's white shoes!

Great saxophone music. Can you tell the name of the song by looking at the backdrop?

Jane was definitely the most popular female singer. She was called back to sing more songs.

No performance is complete without a violin solo.

A couple of students did some science experiments for their part of the show.

Imagine my surprise when Alan began singing The Holy City. He has a beautiful operatic voice. I must admit it did bring tears to my eyes. It even rivaled the beautiful rendition from Karen and Eleene every Christmas. I think I also was overwhelmed by the fact that I was sitting in an auditorium in the center of Beijing, China listening to a beautiful song about the Savior's birth. Very overwhelming.

A Little More December

 First real snow storm in Beijing. I found out kids are kids everywhere in the world. Whenever they had a minute the students were outside having a snowball fight, building a snowman or sliding through the snow. For a few of the students this was the first time they had really experienced a large amount of snow. It was fun for everyone - but the drivers of automobiles. Many accidents on this day with even a few fatalities. It is a good thing they don't have too much snow here. It would make life very difficult for the 20 + million who live and work here. It does get very cold, but it seems bearable without having to slosh through the snow to get around.

I thought December 14 would come and go without any fanfare. I had been working at the school for a little less than a month, so I was quit sure no one would know it was my birthday. I was prepared to go home, put my feet up and read a good book and then Skype with my children and grandchildren. Not a horrible way to spend a birthday. However, the day turned out to be a lot more fun. The last period of the day, some students came to my office and told me I was needed in a class. When I got to the room, I was greeted by students and staff to wish me a happy birthday. Even sang to me in English.

It was Jerry's birthday too. He is the boy on my left.

We had enough cake to share with everyone.

That night I got to hear my grandchildren sing to me, and Shelly had her second graders send birthday wishes my way. It also heard from many friends and family by email and Facebook. It turned out to be a very delightful day.

One of the ways they end the year at Beijing #4 High School is to have a run. The day they had picked to run turned out to be the coldest day yet - around one degree fahrenheit. I think they were supposed to run around the track eight times. Many of the students started out, but not too many ended the race. We had one girl that almost passed out, but everyone else was just winded and cold. I am sure you noticed that I did not participate. I needed to take pictures - at least that is what I told them.

Miss Meng, Mr. An and Frank leading the pack.

Students who started.

Students who ended. Very hardy souls.

December Reflections

December was a very unusual month. It was very calm compared to other Decembers when it felt like every day had something happening, and there was so much to do to get ready for Christmas. I knew I would be working on Christmas which was interesting to think about. I found that in many ways it was a very peaceful and calm time. Many of the streets and stores were decorated, but it was either just pretty lights or things having to do with Santa Claus. Some of the larger stores did play Christmas music. I even heard Christmas carols now and again. It was a very strange feeling walking through the stores listening to Silent Night. As I said in an earlier post, it did give me time to reflect on the real meaning of Christmas. Alhough I am not a fan of being by myself in a foreign country at Christmas time, with all of the rushing from place to place and shopping gone, it did cause me to go deep into my soul and look for the Savior in Christmas.

So the following pictures are just a walk through the month of December. Thankfully, I wasn't just a lonely hermit during the month. I had some very pleasant experiences with some good people to help me celebrate.

Decorations on a main street near my apartment.

The next three pictures were taken in the lobby of the building where we hold church. They are not the usual foyer decorations of a church. At least our church is on the fourth floor

Can't have Christmas without the branch party and the presentation of the Nativity. There was lots of good food, singing and visiting as part of the wonderful evening.

We have three couples in the branch who are here teaching English for the BYU program. They have been good friends and invited me to some of their activities. We had a little Christmas party with some great American food - although I don't recall eating strawberry shortcake at Christmas before, but it was delicious. They even added a beautiful little Christmas tree. I think is goes with the apartment that gets passed on to a new couple every year.

You can tell I went all out for the decorations. I made the table decoration at a Relief Society activity, or I probably wouldn't even have that. Then I finally added my beautiful Nativity set, and my apartment was as decorated as it was going to be this Christmas. I think I will try and add some more things next year - I will see.

Mary and Kyle Latimer invited all of the people who didn't go home for the holidays to a Christmas party. They ordered the biggest pizzas I have ever seen, added cans of root beer (which most of us haven't had for a while because we don't work at the US Embassy like Kyle does), and some great brownies. Can't ask for a better Christmas dinner than that. Everybody brought a white elephant to share. It was a delightful evening.

Mary Latimer with the pizza.

On Christmas Eve, Gloria Dell'Anese and her husband invited me to share the evening with them and their family and friends. She is Chinese and he is Italian, and they met while they were going to law school at Harvard. They are a delightful couple. We even had the opportunity to speak about the reason for Christmas Eve - a little unexpected blessing. She could talk about it because she is Chinese and she was with her family.

This is Gloria and her husband.

Finally it was Christmas Day. I got up and went to work just the same as every other work day. I did get to leave the school at 3:30 so I could go with some friends to have Christmas dinner with Pres. and Sis Hurst. We had turkey (which Pres. Hurst cooked), potatoes and gravy, dressing, salad, and rolls. At the end of the evening, we even had apple and pecan pie. I almost forgot I was in China for a little while. It tasted like a real Christmas dinner. Isn't it interesting what a big part food plays in our celebrations.

Isabel Berrios, Su Wei and Will Shegrud.

Isabel with Will. He was the hit of the party.

Pres. and Sis. Hurst

Will and his father Joe with Isabel.

Amy Shegrud with Pres. Hurst

Christmas walked very quietly through the month of December here in China. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I did miss my children and grandchildren, but thanks to Skype, I got to visit with everybody. I even got to participate in the opening of presents with some of them. It is a pretty amazing world we live in today.