We had plans with our HEU neighbors, who had graciously introduced themselves to us and were of HUGE assistance to us as we were getting settled into the apartment.
Let me backtrack....on our arrival day in China 'fresh off the plane' and still completely exhausted and overwhelmed with all we had to do in front of us before the day ended (call ChinaAir, call our host Yuang, get more money exchanged and our housing settled, find out where the closest food market was, buy plates, food, towels, soap and toiletries since none were provided by the University) we found our home for the next two weeks.
The Traveling Student and Staff complex was not unlike the Russian style apartments you see in Jason Bourne movies. And not unlike the Bourne movies, lighting was at a premium. The ceiling fixtures were lit only into the entrance of the main hallway, and like some odd horror film were turned off the rest of the length of the hall. That meant the only light was from the end entrance and the main entrance and one main hallway where the glass doors were always padlocked shut. I remember thinking how grateful I was to have watch Long Way Round with Dan because those environs were nothing but gaunt stark and intimidating. As we walked to the elevator I saw a white woman.
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| The godforsaken washer that poured dirty water out onto the floor. Shades of Spain. |
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| No sheets just a duvet and a very firm mattress |
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| The view outside of our bedroom window. There were two bright green turbine-looking things (seen in lower right corner) and a much larger one beside it. All of them were weed-stricken and rotting. |
Keep in mind. This was the FIRST white woman outside of my family I had seen in nearly 2 days' time. ( The woman Beloved had sat next to on the flight over was long on her Nepalese trek probably off drinking goat yogurt and having a lovely time.) I had spent the last two days being confronted with the reality of black hair olive complexions .everywhere.i.looked. EVERYWHERE.
I mean, not even a brunette Caucasian. I would have killed for brunette Caucasian. Just one.
This young woman was barefoot, thin and gaunt as her surroundings, and carried a redheaded baby on her hip. She had wet hair and wore a thin tank top and baggy jeans. I nearly squealed with excitement (the patent xenophobe I am) and said excitedly "Are you American?!"
She smirked as she continued to walk by me, not altering her step at all, and said "Chhh...YEAH" in a quite sarcastic manner and she continued to pad on down the hall. The dark dimly lit hallway.
It must have been the jet lag that prevented me from pouncing on her retreating frame. The innards of my brain were screaming a blue flame of insults at her "LISSEN BISHHHH..."
so it was a good thing I was too tired to object. Instead I went up into our little apartment, closed the door to our bedroom, curled up in a ball and wept.
'How MEAN!' I thought in my most petulant curly-haired little girl manner.
So imagine my surprise when the young couple who occupied the two apartments at the end of our hallway knew this woman. This toothy somewhat odd (I come to find out that her treatment was not in fact a personal affront whatsoever, but rather the symptom of being married to a physicist who taught at a foreign university and where you made your home. Aloof comes with self-preservation)
Regardless, the young couple we met were English teachers at the University. They had three blonde children, who loved to ride their plastic-wheeled trike up and down and up and down the hallway. Their oldest was a girl entering her first year of school, and then a sweet little boy and their youngest sibling, another girl.
These two angels (I'll call them Bart and Naomi) were a godsend. They provided us with the name of a driver we could hire, and gave us Chinese names of all of the main sights in Harbin written on a slip of paper that we could use when we had to use taxis or the subways,
Bart's sister was visiting with them while we were there, and we ended up becoming good friends.
So after their enormous amount of help during the two weeks we were there, we were amazed when they invited us to a good old American dinner of hamburgers :).
Our sole task for the rest of the day was to provide dessert. :) We ended up finding a cute little sweetshop near the East Gate of the University where we purchased macaroons and slices of torte and cake to share with the family.
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| Doe and the cute staff |
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| A collection of menfolk relaxing at the park |
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| Tank and his buddy work tirelessly on the perfect Thomas track. |
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| Bumpo helps in the kitchen |
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| Harbin at sunset |
It was a nice day.
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