5 Star Hospitality...But I'm Definitely not at the Ritz

So, looking at this picture, you're probably wondering, was is really cool enough to be wearing pants? To break it to you all in Florida feeling the high 90's, yes, the weather stayed in the low 60's pretty much the entire day. The highest it might get over here is low 80's (although we did have a hot spell right when I arrived). Just to give you an idea, if Harbin were in the North America, it would sit somewhere in Canada. Thus, it's pretty convenient for running--I can run whenever I want and not worry about starting on fire (I've definitely felt like it on a few...many...runs in Florida).

Anyway, this post isn't as much about the weather as it is about how out of their way my Chinese friends have gone for me and other Americans here studying with me. I think I already shared with you my experience when I first arrived in Harbin...the 4 random students I met who were nice enough to go out of their way to help me find my dorm, offer to help me unpack, and then took me to the orientation meeting place. And of course, when my computer got "injured," it was Fan Wei, one of the "Fantastic 4", who helped me get it fixed.

Well, a few days ago, I got to meet up with the other three. I had had a horrible day--I had a lot of homework the night before, thus only getting about 4 hours of sleep; I ended up having a crappy lunch with a few classmates; and I got annihilated in all my classes--I left class wondering what language I'd actually been studying for the past 2 years. But this all changed when I got back from my run at 6:45. I told them I'd call them and meet them at 7:00, but when I returned from my run, they were already waiting in the lobby. Although it was a 2 hour dinner (Sichuan food), it was really entertaining and educational (as always). I learned that they and all other Chinese teenagers love Prison Break (because of the plot twists and some handsome actor) and Lost. When I told them I like Harry Potter, they asked me if I thought it was infantile. I told them to give the first book a try, and they'd see why pretty much anyone can enjoy it. Yang Jiang, the one I know the best, paid for my dinner, and I've run into her around campus many times since.

In fact, the first picture of this post was taken by a stranger I met coming back from buying $1 DVDs (We are Marshall, Manchurian Candidate, American Wedding, When Harry Met Sally, and Farewell My Concubine) and CDs (the best Chinese pop of...now, and the 80's). After taking 6 or so pictures of me--she wanted to make sure she got the picture right--she asked if I had time to chat. We ended up talking for about 45 minutes, of course all in Chinese. Turns out she had just graduated from HIT (where I'm studying) and in the end gave me her phone number...I don't know what that was all about...Just the fact that she took time to sit down with me and talk, and show genuine interest, I think says a lot. She even looked a little disappointed to see me go.

I think the best example of Chinese "no-holds-bar" hospitality came last weekend in Dandong. So there's about 6 of us (half of us Chinese, half American) walking next to the river and we decide to sit for a while. After talking about nothing for half an hour, we decide to go. When we get up, Allison realizes she had sat in spit, and now has it all over her behind. Now if that happened to your friend in the U.S., you tell them to take their problem to the bathroom and work it out. Not here in China. Without hesitation, the closest Chinese friend pulls out her tissue pack and starts going to work on Allison's problem. This wasn't a quick fix either: it took a good 5 minutes, and at one time another one of her Chinese friends got in on the action, making for an interesting little threesome. To say the least, it was an unusual sight, and I was lucky enough to get a picture.