Destination: Beijing: Harbin (Part 1)

*While I was in Harbin, it was really hard to get connected to the internet so I wasn't able to update my blog while I was there. I did however write up posts for my blog so this is my first of two.

I’ve been lucky enough to travel to many places while I’ve been here in China, and now I get to add Harbin to the list! My Aunt and Uncle (Jo Jo and Jo Ma) live in Harbin and I’ve wanted to visit them for a long time. They lived in Taiwan before and when I visited them there, I had a great time and was always fed extremely well (as can be expected when visiting relatives… they nonstop feed you haha). I get to visit them from Wednesday to Monday.

Harbin is a famous city to the north of Beijing that’s known for its ice sculptures during the winter starting around mid-December. Sculptors from all over China come to Harbin to carve different ice sculptures and the streets are lined with different ice creations during the winter. I didn’t get to see any on my trip to Harbin this time, but I plan to come back at least once more in the winter so hopefully I can see them then.

My Uncle is a visiting professor of Urban Design at the Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT). So I had the chance to visit the dorms that visiting professors get to stay in. They’re pretty nice and spacious as you can see by the pics below. It was interesting staying at the HIT campus because it was very similar to Tsinghua University in some aspects and a little different in others. The canteens are all the same, a lot of people needing to be fed in a short amount of time. There was plentiful food for reallllly cheap, exactly like in Tsinghua. They also have a main supermarket here on campus for the students to use that is much cheaper than outside prices and my aunt even told me local residents from outside of campus will come and shop here for the cheaper goods.

My room while I stayed with my Uncle and Aunt

Student supermarket

Breakfast food at the canteen all for around 10RMB (< $2)

The weather in Harbin is much colder than in Beijing. They’ve already had their first snowfall! They have highs around the upper 20s. Especially since I dislike the cold, I am very happy that I brought my thick winter jacket with me to Harbin. However, talking to the other students at HIT, this type of weather is warm to them. It gets much colder in December and January. The weather here seems to be comparable to what we’d get in MN and maybe even colder.

I’ve been able to talk with a lot of the Masters and PhD students at HIT because my Uncle is a professor and I’ve been able to go to his office and meet his students. It’s an interesting experience interacting with them. Many have been learning English since they were young, but they are too afraid/nervous/shy to actually practice with me. I spoke with one of the students named Wutong and she said it was because she has been learning English a long time, but has the most practice in written English. Her speaking is much poorer and so she doesn’t feel as comfortable speaking English with me. It’s interesting hearing that because many students I’ve talked to at Tsinghua who are in China to study only Chinese have said the same thing, except about Chinese. One thing I’ve really liked about being in Harbin is how much I’ve been able to practice my Chinese. Because my aunt and uncle don’t know English as well, and many students are more comfortable speaking Chinese, I’ve probably spoken more Chinese in these past couple days than I have in my two months in China! Being here has really forced me to use it more, and I like it! =)

Wutong and I eating ice cream at Haagen Dazs

Of course, I have been eating sooooo much while I’ve been here. I’ve been able to try some new things too! I tried the fruit on a stick covered in glaze (pretty tasty!), pig liver (very chalky texture and odd flavor… not too big a fan), asian pears in red wine (nummy!), lots of different types of mushrooms (I used to hate eating mushrooms and they’re slowly growing on me), and hot pot (first time trying it in China… and it was apparently the Taiwanese version of hot pot haha). It’s also my uncle’s birthday on Sunday, so his students surprised him with a cake on Friday! And the school gave him another cake! The food never stops coming and I’ve only been here two days. I’ll report back with more of my trip and food adventures (and pictures!) soon =)