Hello, Harbin!

I arrived in Harbin early Saturday morning after a short overnight train ride from Beijing.  The train ride was uneventful, but a nice opportunity to get to know the other three students in our 4-person soft sleeper (I know, right? CET must be rolling in dough to splurge on soft sleeper.  They were fully equipped with personal TV, luggage space, lots of headroom, doily-covered seatbacks, and even single-use slippers.  I don't know if I approve of this use of funds, granted, it was $60).  Needless to say, we rolled into Harbin in style.

At breakfast, the first thing I noticed about Harbin and the thing that has stuck with me most was the dirt.  We ate at a small café and there weren't enough seats, so I sat outside with some classmates.  The weather here is beautiful, hovering between 70 and 85 throughout the day.  Saturday, however, it was also really windy.  You wouldn't believe the amount of stuff that found its way onto our food.  Most of it was dirt and such, but there was also what seemed to be coal dust, and some other stuff.  At one point someone said "One second, I have to dust off my watermelon."  Which was hilarious, but also kind of scary.

Harbin is a pretty large city, with a population of 4.7 million, but isn't huge by Chinese standards.  It is bisected by the Songhua River, which is lined on both sides by turn-of-the-century Russian architecture.  In addition to its Manchurian past (China's last dynasty, the Qing, hailed from the area), Harbin was also controlled by the Russians for a period of time, as well as the Japanese during World War II.  Each has left its mark. 

The city is dotted with new interpretations of the European architecture left by the Russians, and is host to the "Oriental St. Petersburg," St. Sofia Church (I will visit it and post pictures later).  The Japanese and Russians were also central to the industrialization of not just Harbin, but the entire Northeast, and Harbin is still known for heavy industry today.  And it's also why everything in Harbin seems dirty.

Usually Chinese cities are sort of grimy, but for the sake of low unemployment rates, they are generally well-kept by the multitudes of available cheap labor.  Not so in Harbin.  Everything seems to have aged twice as fast because of the pollution, and no one seems particularly care.  Obviously, I've only been here a few days, so I will refrain from passing judgment, but I find it strange nonetheless.  It seems like it might be a reflection of the people from the northeast.  They look tough and aren't particularly concerned with aesthetics, but are known for their down-to-earth values, friendliness, and straightforwardness.  So far, this seems to be the case.  It should be a great place to study Chinese.

Classes started today, and I'm really excited.  They all seem like they will be great, and will become challenging as the weeks progress.  We move into our dorm tomorrow (we were held up in a hotel these last few days because of the swine flu scare), and I'm really excited to meet my Chinese roommate.  More updates soon!