Harbin has a very dismal appearance in the winter. The bright
flowers, leaves and grass are not there to disguise the crumbling
workmanship of the buildings and the flaky or streaky paint. There hasn't
been any rain to remove the accumulated filth from the streets and
sidewalks. Unless the snow is fresh, everything is covered with a layer of
soot.
Spring is definitely here. The temperature fluctuates, but is
certainly warmer than December or January. The wind is strong and carries
a lot of dirt, which helped the black snow to melt away during the warmer
days. People are wearing their lighter coats now and then.
March 18 is the 31st consecutive day I've been in China, bringing
my total count to 352. I was in Harbin this time last year, too. It's hard
to look back and remember how I felt as I experienced everything for the
first time. I'm calling this my second try, because I want to live here
with more purpose and be mindful of opportunities. But I haven't got much
of a plan. I've signed an agreement with my friends from TEAM to work for
them until mid-August. After that, I'm not sure what will happen.
On January 12, I arrived in Grand Rapids, and proceeded to have
the most excellent vacation that I can remember. I had missed everyone so
much, and it brought me so much joy to see for myself how my friends and
family were doing. It was a refreshing time that I think has prepared me
well to live in Harbin again.
I arrived in Harbin on February 17, late in the afternoon. I went
to my new home, the Jensens' apartment, where I had stored my stuff during
the holiday. On the 19th I had to teach four hours of classes, and then
board an overnight train north to the city of Heihe. The TEAM company,
Dongfu, was to give an English teaching seminar to college and high school
English teachers, and I had to go along to help. Although I was not at all
pleased to be traveling so soon after I had arrived in Harbin, it was an
interesting experience. After all, I also needed to know more about
teaching! The teachers were much more cooperative than my university
students are.
Heihe is a city on the Heilong River, which is the border with
Russia. Across the river is a Russian city, and the residents often cross
the river. It isn't that simple for foreigners like me, though, so I
didn't go across on the ice.
During our time in Heihe, the normal college English department
sent us to Anhui city to see a museum about the various border disputes
with Russia and a memorial about Russian aggression. Although nothing was
translated into English, it had very interesting exhibits.
We spent six days in Heihe, and the morning our train (soft
sleeper car, no less!) arrived in Harbin I was scheduled to teach four
hours again. So it has taken me quite a while to really get settled in to
my new apartment and get a work schedule ironed out. I finally feel like
I've got things cleaned and organized good enough, and my roommate and I
are getting along fine. I even got to hang out with some people my age a
couple of times!
These days I'm taking 13 hours of language class at Hei Da,
teaching 4 hours at Hei Da, working at the Dongfu office most afternoons,
attending a local club on Saturday nights and foreigners' house club on
Sunday mornings. Some other teaching hours should be coming soon. I also
work for the office every other Tuesday night, which is the Culture Night.
Last Tuesday, I was in charge. Praise the Father that it went well and few
people came because we didn't have enough helpers!
