Leanne With a year off work. I am off to South America to experience living in country so different from my own.

Left Chengdu with flurries of snow arrived in Haerbin to -16 and evidence of snowfall every where - the place is white! The accomodation is fine, warm, hot shower nice big room, we are flatmates with two men a Canadian and an American. The outside is awful, probably similiar to a prison but inside is fine. We shuffled out for dinner looking like Michelin men, forgot the phrase book (not much english at all here) but did alot of pointing and agreeing and had a lovely big bowl of steaming beef and noodle soup. Up early tomorrow for a tour of Haerbin then off to the ski fields - it will be warmer there right!