Anything Can Become a KFC

What I'm told is the former home office of the Китайско-Восточная Железная Дорога or Chinese Eastern Railway just off of Hongbo Square, now repurposed as a KFC. And if it weren't a KFC, then it would probably be a McDonald's or a Pizza Hut! Economic development sure is accompanied by some weird things!

Back to the Past

I went wandering along some of the smaller streets east of Xidazhi Street and came across a few old houses that appear to date from the city's earlier, Russian era. Some of them were pretty close to collapse and most of them will no doubt be replaced with soulless, ugly apartment buildings sooner or later, but it was heartwarming to see so many of them standing so long after their heyday.

So Wrong It Must Be Right?

There are times the English used in advertisements and displays here in Harbin is so appalling I just can't help taking a picture. It's a little hard to tell from the angle, but this is a Christmas display at a mall here of what appears to be Santa Claus and Madonna hanging out in a hot tub. Madonna of course can't help asking Santa, "Have you go to Christmas?" To which Santa somewhat surprisingly replies, "I don't cares..." So awesome, so China!

Make New Traditions and Keep the Old

There's a lovely song about friendship, with the line "make new friends, but keep the old," which is definitely worth doing! I've found it's also worth doing with household traditions. My family moved a fair amount when I was growing up, but my parents always tried to keep some continuity in our family's celebration of North American holidays. Christmas might not always have been white, but it was still Christmas! Certain desserts were always around, gifts were exchanged, and as far as I remember there was always some sort of tree.

I'm not sure I fully appreciated the work my parents did to give our family that sort of continuity. I've been doing some reading lately about immigrants' experiences in other countries, and all too often it's just too difficult to even try to keep up holidays from 'the old country,' wherever that may be. I must confess to have done a fair amount of coasting myself after secondary school. As the moves kept coming after university, however, I realized that there had to be some sort of continuity in my life since people and places weren't always it.

Since that realization I've done my best - through the disruptions and the moves - to keep the holidays that are dear to my heart. Some are cultural, others are religious. The celebrations vary drastically from year to year. I've made Indian food for Thanksgiving dinner and I often double up on Christmas celebrations due to family and social obligations. But something happens, because keeping to some form of my personal traditions gives my life a structure and rootedness it needs. And while my traditions give me some much needed rootedness, my calendar's always open. If a time and a place become dear to me through a new holiday in a new place, then that holiday will likely join my personal pantheon. I fully expect Lunar New Year or the Mid-Autumn Festival or some other Chinese holiday to become part of my personal culture, if not while I'm resident here in Harbin, then after I've moved on to my next home.

Wherever you are or wherever you're headed, I'd encourage you to think about what holidays and traditions are important to you. Think about ways you can maintain them. Be flexible! Not being able to get this or that shouldn't make or break a holiday for you, 'cause there are plenty of places where what's normal to you may be exotic and impossible to find. And if you're moving far from where you consider to be home to a new country and culture, don't trust that you'll have other Americans or Zulu or Chinese or whoever already there to connect with around your special days. The burden may be on you to keep what's yours, and it's better to be prepared to take the lead than to wake up on Christmas morning bummed out about being in an undecorated apartment with no plans to celebrate the day even with something as simple as a plate of cookies.

Happy holidays, everyone!

Crowds: The Chinese Queue

There's nothing like trying to get on a crowded bus at a crowded bus stop, especially during the winter. Suddenly your personal space goes from minimal to non-existent as everyone from grannies to children start shoving their way to the bus door. There is no queuing (if only!). Even once you've gotten to the door there's no yielding - I've seen grown men both try to fit through at the same time, which just does not work! (The bus entrance doors really are only wide enough for one.) Occasionally the very old or very young will get some mercy, but even this is often not the case. And strangely enough, you will endure the same pushing and shoving if you try to get on an empty bus at an

only slightly crowded bus stop - there is no concept of lining up, of making the whole process easier and quicker. Instead people skip straight to difficult as they elbow their way towards the bus door.

I grew up in places where this sort of masochism is the norm, so most of the time it doesn't bother me. When I find myself in such a situation I just pick my mascot in the crowd - someone to use as a wedge to get me in the door - and use my height and weight to push them along until we're in. But there are days I find the whole situation exhausting. It is all so incredibly unnecessary! Why the rudeness, when you could just queue up and enter the bus without the danger of being knocked flat on the icy ground? (Or, once in, the slushy bus floor!) If Chinese culture cares so much for children and expects people to honor the elderly, then why not at the very least send them to the front of the crowd? I think in some circles it is fashionable to speak of the West as being the place where it's all about the individual and individuals' selfish pursuits of what benefits them, but what is all of this rudeness - from granny and hipster alike - if not selfishness?

I wish it were only buses where this sort of thing is the norm, but unfortunately it extends to leaving the bus, getting in (and out) of elevators, entering and leaving buildings, and lines (often "lines") in stores. (And no doubt many other places!) It is all the more surprising given how friendly and warm I've found coworkers and strangers alike to be here in Harbin. All the same, the crowd "queue" craziness is something to be aware of, whether you're planning a visit or a move to this wonderful Ice City!

Frost Art

I just love the patterns the frost makes on the bus windows in the mornings - such an ornate, natural beauty in the midst of Harbin's frozen urban jungle!

Novoye Cemetery Church

Winter offers a starker, less obstructed view of Holy Dormition, the old church of what used to be Harbin's Novoye Cemetery and is now an amusement park.

Early Winter on Zhongyang

It snowed a bit yesterday - a nice compliment to our 'real feel' -26 degree [Celsius] weather - and the light dusting everywhere made the downtown quite magical...and also scarily slippery. (I'm pretty cautious in snow and ice and I still bit it pretty hard while I was out and about.)