Pandas on ice

Here lies the inevitable post about China. I want to try and avoid talking about myself here as much as I can, but this is an exception.

So in the fall--August 29th, to be precise--I will be spending the semester abroad in Harbin (pronounced har-bEEn) , China. For those who don't know (pretty much all of you), Harbin is a city of about 3mil, located in scenic Heilongjiang province, which is the northeastern most province in China. You'll also recall, Harbin was affected last November by a benzene spill caused by an explosion of a factory in Jilin. This tidbit I "forgot" to tell my mother until after I had been accepted into the program. Next to that, Harbin is probably best known for its heavy Russian influence, and its cripplingly cold winters. Temperatures dive to about -22 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter. The guidebook I was sent has this to say about Harbin's winters:

China's northern most province, Heilongjiang is known for its subarctic climate. Come January, with its -30C weather and howling Siberian gales, the locals sensibly huddle around their stoves, swathed in thickly padded clothing, quaffing the local firewater. Activity slows to a crunch in this snowflake-spitting weather, while hibernating animals bypass the season completely.

By the by, this guidebook (Lonely Planet) for China is about a thousand pages long. The number of pages the entry for Harbin is? That would be nine. Coincidentally, nine would also be the temperature I will probably be praying for in mid-winter.

So why go there? Good question. The program I'm going to is known for its language-intensive curriculum. Students take a language pledge, where they pledge to speak only Chinese for the duration of the program. To be quite honest, I have no idea how that will turn out, or how it will affect updates here about my trip. So, in short, I am either going to learn Chinese really well, or freeze to death in the Siberian winter. Possibly both. Stay tuned.