Cody Batchelor Visits Ice & Snow Festival
(Editor’s Note: Cody Batchelor of Monticello is teaching English in Harbin, China this year, and this is his second installment about his life there.)
Around October, the veteran foreign teachers at my school looked at my hooded sweatshirt and told me, “Aren’t you cold? You’re going to need a winter coat pretty soon!”
My mom sent two packages with jackets and thick sweaters, but that had yet to arrive; this served as an excuse for my delay. Even my students started warning me that winter was coming. Some of them even remarked at how healthy I must be in order to withstand the cold temperatures with such little clothing, despite my indications that I was in fact wearing multiple layers—thermals included!
I resisted the encouragement to buy a winter coat to brace for the colder days to come, until that is, when snow fell, and stayed. I knew then that my measly collection of long sleeved shirts, cotton jacket, and hooded sweatshirt would not bar the subzero Siberian winds from cutting straight to my bones and settling.
So I bought a winter coat.
To guide me in navigating the clothing stores and the lone shopping mall in ZhiHua (the city right down the road from my school), I asked an upperclassman with decent English skill to assist me with my search. His English name is Michael. We met at a local English social function held every Saturday for local university students to practice their English with foreigners.
Ever since, he’s invited me to all sorts of meetings with his classmates to carry on mostly one-sided conversations about American culture, current events, past events, and the English language. He once asked me to explain the plot of Gone With the Wind, with which I’m quite familiar; however, at some point in my explanation of Sherman’s “March to the Sea,” he noticeably lost interest and insisted that we move on to another topic.
Background aside, Michael owed me a bit of return of investment. What better way to help out the foreign teacher-friend than by ensuring his well-being! As you can see, a mutually beneficial outcome was inevitable.
I specifically asked Michael to scout out a store that sold sporting jackets; the kind used for skiing and other snow sports.
To drive home this point, I indicated that I was not interested in the things that I saw at the ZhiHua shopping mall—from a previous visit. The coats/jackets didn’t quite fit my style. I explained that I didn’t want something with faux-fur lining the hood, buttons every which-where (purely aesthetic, I assume), or plaid sleeves with a wool-looking material in the torso region and a solid-colored breast pocket. Plain, yet versatile would suit me.
Michael led me to a sports equipment store called Erke—the equivalent of a Sports Authority. The process of selecting and fitting items is worth noting here: changing rooms are uncommon, at least for the men’s wear. Store personnel, or the owner/operator of the shops in the malls will encourage you to try on your selected clothing right on the spot. Also the sizing is adjusted for the local population. In the States, I fit comfortably into mediums, here, XXL. Frankly I just ask for the largest size available! After my purchase Michael guided me to a clothing store above the local grocery store, insisting that I take extra measures to protect my hands and ears. I bowed to the persuasion. The total, converted into U.S. dollars, rounded out to $45, and I have yet to regret it!
Once the Songhua River froze over, the Ice and Snow Festival preparations commenced, as did the negative temperatures. I added another article of protective, insulating clothing with a trip to the riverfront at the end of Central Street (the main tourist avenue in downtown). A couple of students invited me to enjoy the attractions set up on the ice: sleds led by husky hounds, skating, and a makeshift sleigh constructed from school room chairs attached to parallel metal rods. We chose this last attraction, allowing each member of our group to participate.
Each of us was given two wooden poles with metal picks at their ends—an oar, of sorts, for the ice. We “rowed” our way across the Songhua’s frozen surface; it really took a toll on my upper body, mainly because I was assigned steering duty at the head of the chair sled. Anyhow, during one of our stops, a woman approached us commenting on how cold we must feel, especially me with my face contorted into a grimace, red at the nose, ears, and cheeks. This was her pitch: You should buy these things to protect yourself. In my time of need, she won me over, and I added a neck warmer to my collection of winter gear. Once again, the price alone warranted satisfaction, but it’s served a dual purpose of filtering the smoky haze that has often hung in the air.
Now that my wardrobe fit the conditions of my environment, I realized and pursued opportunities to explore the city and its Ice and Snow attractions. One of the students in my VIP English class (of Harbin government workers) gave me a ticket to the Sun Island International Snow Sculpture Art Expo for Christmas. The park, while still in the process of finalizing its major sculptures, featured displays of magnificent scale, most of which towered beyond imaginable height and extended further than my digital camera could capture! The imagery touched on myth, cultural iconography, and even popular cartoons. These artistic displays were not alone in their icy, snowy grandeur, buildings for concessions, gift shops, and bathrooms were outfitted with snow exteriors.
On New Year’s, I visited the Harbin Ice and Snow World, a site that I’d eyed from the highway throughout its construction process. From the road, you can see whole buildings…repeat…buildings constructed from ice blocks. Strewn through these blocks, neon lights illuminated these structures. Everything from castles, towers, and traditional Chinese buildings, to a coliseum replica and snow sculptures covered the park’s terrain.
A couple of the castles had ice slides descending from their top most levels. I initially opposed the idea of sliding down, but once atop the structure, it seemed to me to be the most efficient way to descend; oh, by the way, the steps for each structure were made of ice as well! After pressing against the line and getting a slow start (in spite of the fact that a friend gave me a good push), I zoomed right down to the castle’s base without a scratch or a frozen bottom.
Central Street, being the tourist hot spot, offered its own array of sculptures courtesy of local artisans, local shops, and multinational corporate promotion (i.e. Coca-Cola). As the whole air of ice and snow festival transpired, I noticed sets of ice blocks sitting at random spots along the street. Eventually these were transformed into all sorts of sculptures, my favorite so far being a towering Michael Jackson in a clear, mid-pelvic thrust pose. Coca-Cola’s handful of constructions rival this, one of which is an Artic scene with a polar bear, igloo, and Eskimo caricatures with the faces cut-out so that people can pose with their faces inside (carnival-esque). Incidentally, the Coca-Cola tent fixture nearby was not made of ice, but does sell hot coke—eventually I’ll take advantage of it . . . for the sake of adventure!
In my previous feature, I mentioned that my school gives a two-month winter vacation because of the harsh winter. Well I decided to travel to South Africa (after getting my fill of the best Harbin had to offer), south of the Equator and thus guaranteeing warm weather, to evade the cold. I’m currently here volunteering for the Wildlife Africa Conservation Team (ACT). Before I head back to Harbin, I’ll stop by Venice, Italy for about a week.
In the meantime, I’m regularly updating my blog http://codyinharbin.tumblr.com with pictures, anecdotes, videos, etc. of my experiences and adventures. Again, if you have any questions you can reach me via email at codyleeb@gmail.com !
