Ice is Nice

We all set out from the tour bus together, walking as quickly as we could across the icy parking lot. The sole illumination immediately around us consisted of the headlights of cars trying to make their way in and out of the chaotic mass of people, buses and other cars. We started to string out, having to dodge around the masses. Soon, our group dissipated into the surroundings. I could no more tell which of the heavily bundled moving bodies was part of our group than I could distinguish stars in the sky. Cal and I were on our own to enjoy the ice.

Normally, it's very easy to pick out the Americans in the midst of the Chinese. But here, in the cold and dark, height, weight and the color of clothing were the only way to tell people apart. There was no race. Almost everyone had at least one layer of fabric covering virtually every part of their bodies. And in the dark, it was impossible to see people's eyes. Are cold and dark nights a cure for racism? No, we'd probably just start in on the blue coats versus the red coats or the tall people versus the short people.

This, by the way, is the Ice Festival in Harbin, China. It was pretty, um, cool.