Hello Harbin

 A lot has happened since I last posted (it’s been too long, I know!), so I’ll start from now and work my way backwards as far as you and I have the energy to read and write respectively.  I have arrived in Harbin!  The group of us CET students took an overnight train from Beijing which arrived around 6:30 in the morning yesterday. We then spent the rest of the day in orientation meetings, tours of campus, filling out paperwork, and attempting to get settled into this new place without the majority of our luggage (which was being shipped and should arrive any minute!!!).  It was a very long day.  As I have told some of you already, I felt like I had been here for a week already, except for the fact that I had yet to sleep in my bed and did not know my way around. At least one of those things has changed at the current time of writing!  Today we have more placement tests planned along with a longer tour of the surrounding area.

My room!

My bed! It's much softer than I was expecting.

Me in the hallway of our dorm.

 I know last time I posted I was still in Zhangjiachuan.  I know my travels are very confusing, so I’ll give you a brief outline.  Zhangjiachuan -> Xi’an -> Beijing -> Harbin!

My time in Beijing was super short, less than two days in total.  I flew in from Xi’an in the afternoon and met up with other people from my program in the airport.  There we waited for the rest of the students and then went to a hotel.  Traffic was bad, so we didn’t arrive until almost 8pm, and it was probably around 8:30 or so before we felt settled and found a group to go out for dinner.  We found the nearest restaurant and piled in. It was nice, but also complicated to have such a large group. Everyone was at a different level in terms of their Chinese ability and understanding of the culture so it took us awhile to order and get started.  Eventually, I started to take control a bit and make sure all of our dishes had arrived/ send things back once everyone was full. The next day we had orientation meetings than a bit of free time before our train at 6pm. I accompanied some other Fulbrighters to the national museum in Tiananmen, and then went shopping for train snacks. I didn’t have time to meet up with anyone I knew in Beijing, but it was nice to be there all the same.

On the train to Harbin we had soft sleeper tickets.  It was the nicest train I’ve ever taken in China.  That being said it was still quite hot and difficult to sleep, but such is life.

Apologies again for the lack of pictures so far, but I have some from Xi’an!! I spent most of my time in Xi’an eating and wandering around the Muslim district with YM. I also met more of his friends in the city and attempted (unsuccessfully) to help him move into his new dorm at Northwest Polytechnic University, which ranks second in the country for his major. When we arrived, we were informed that new students were not allowed to move in for another two days. One a side note, the university where I am currently studying, Harbin Polytechnic University, is the top rated school. Needless to say YM was a bit jealous.

I guess that’s all for now!  I’m looking forward to starting classes and settling down! Would love to hear from you.

Some delicious food.  This was called Shaoguo.

Me YM and ZDL standing in front of the Bell Tower.

Me and YM in the Great Mosque.

YM looking for someone to hold his suitcases after we were informed that he could not move in that day.  Thankfully we found someone!

ALY! I found you in China.

The Bell Tower lit up at night.