Here at last!!!

Finnaly, the travelling leg of the journey is over. No more lugging heavy bags through train statins, airports and onto buses. No more customs officers messing up my neatly packed bag (i swear it was neat!). But alas, i shall miss the excitement of it all. Now i shall settle into the working routine, killing the boredom (you'll be pleased to know, choni, i stuck it on my door) with alcohol and the scarce good company to be found. If Lucas weren't here i would probably go insane! And Mandy tells me Zak will be here shortly, can't wait to drink a delicious warm beer with you bro.

We flew out of Guanzhou at 15:30 on friday afternoon, without any bomb scares or other nasty delays. The flight was as pleasant as can be expected from economy class on a chinese internal flight, and after a short stop in dailan we landed in chilly harbin. Picked up our bags, and headed outside where people from our respective schools picked us up. Lucas was driven to his new apartment, and i was taken to a nice hotel (my flat wasnt ready yet). On the way home, the guys (and one girl) from the school were kind enough to take me out for a quick bite to eat at a very busy bbq. All on the schools tab, including the beers! We then left and i was dropped at my hotel. Treated like royalty the whole way, four stars and a very big room on the seventh floor. Drew a steaming bath, and enjoyed it immensly. Havent had a bath in so long (not entirely true, i did have a very nice on before i left...) and was soon reminiscing about duck races and other tub games we played as kids.

Saturday morning i woke up, pulled the curtains back and (lo! and behold) it was snowing! Got dressed, walked outside, and soon scampered back inside to the comfort of central heating. After applying a few more layers, i ventured back out and walked the streets (positively snug as a bug now) and took some photos.

Harbin is beautiful, especially covered in snow. Well, it's beautiful after hong kong and Guanzhou at least. Soon enough though a mighty blizzard kicked up and i was forced back inside to finish off my book which was, coincidentally, the chronicles of narnia.

My school had told me lucas would be coming to stay in the hotel with me... so i bought a few brewski's (50c each, god its great) and had them on the outside windowsil chilling down nicely. After waiting around for a while i soon realised he wasnt coming, so i went and gave him a call. He was already settled in the apartment, a very nice place on the fourteenth floor which features a great shattered glass wall (one big peice of glasss, broken into a thousand peices, stuck between two other panes of glass, to give the look of a shattered window) which divides the kitchen from the living room. He came over and we both headed to his place.

His school has about fifteen foreigners, the majority being canadians, with a couple of poms, an aussie and a yank. We ran into one of them (a canadian) and were soon invited round to meet the rest of the crew and have some drinks. soon turned into a good gathering when lucas bought half a case of harbins finest longnecks. All good chaps and lass's. One of them had lost on dvd, and she was such a doll that she lent it to me to watch when we got back to the flat. Watched half an episode (don't rememeber much of it) and passed out cold.

Woke up this morning with harbins finest hangover, and lucas and i went off in search of a breakfast that our tender stomachs could agree to. We decided to cook our own, and it would have been delicious but for the lack of salt and pepper. turned out, instead, to be a bland mush. But edible all the same.

A lady from the school came and got me at around eleven and brought me to the school, where i was shown around and talked things over with the owner. He's a very nice man, though his english is limited. Its a private college called 'Aitong language academy', very nice and modern with an inhouse cook. I had lunch today and it was scrumptious. So here i am, waiting to go into my new place. It's currently being cleaned and the owner himself is out buying me a bed (as i am a touch taller than the average chinese person.)

I do have a little bad news.... I may be signing a year contract. I wouldnt have even considered it, but the offer is lucrative (such a great word, lucrative). I'm still considering, nothings final yet i have till tomorow to decide.

Well with that i am outties. Hope everyones smiling and happy, i miss you all so so much. I hear Lachjaw may be popping over, do it my son i think i have two rooms in my new place and you are more than welcome, if not theres always the couch, floor, tub or you can spoon me. I'm only a $3 cab ride from lucas which is awesome, i plan to hang with him and his roommates a fair deal, if they'll have me.

Till next time... farewell!
china tom

p.s. is the tomline operational yet? i will have a number very soon i hope.

p.p.s choni your so gay, when you went away how good was all the email love i gave you. But i'm gone not a week and you seem to have forgotten me. Thought we were friends. Thought we were... weekers! and barton too, you slack bastard. haha seriosly if i dont get an email off both of you by tomorrow im signing a twelve year contract.