raddlesnakes asked: Oh wow the Ice Festival would have been amazing, We were back home for CNY and Spring Festival which was disappointing. Every now and then you got a rich persons birthday and the whole wall behind us would be set up, massive explosions right outside our window. Are you excited about Hawaii?

The Ice Festival was amazing, another one of those things everyone should get to see once. But just once, because the cold was so horrible you will look happily at your photographs (provided your fingers are able to press the shutter button and the cold and condensation don’t destroy your camera) without feeling the slightest urge to ever return.

I wasn’t excited about Hawai’i before today because organising it has been a bureaucratic nightmare and I didn’t know 100% if I would really be able to go. The University of Hawai’i accepted me but I didn’t have confirmation from La Trobe that they would approve the credits, and it depends above all on whether my application for an OS-HELP loan is accepted. I can barely afford to cover living costs at the moment, so the loan is vital.

Today I finally had all the paperwork filled in and signed, La Trobe accepted my enrolment, and it’s just a matter of waiting until I find out about OS-HELP in mid-May.

The staff member who approved my application told me that when she went to Hawai’i she went on a helicopter ride into the crater of an active volcano.

That made it seem almost real. But I really can’t allow myself to be excited until I know for sure.

raddlesnakes asked: Did you get sick of the fireworks? I don't know whether they were used as liberally as they were in Nanjing, but our friends said that sometimes a family would all go get new clothes or something simple like that and to celebrate they would set off fireworks. It didn't help that we lived on the river and the wall.

We were in China for Chinese New Year so yes, heaps of fireworks. I was disappointed that we decided to be in Hong Kong for the start of CNY, it was very commercial and I think they’re much stricter about fireworks there. I don’t remember seeing any except during the official display. I heard from travellers while I was there that the atmosphere and warmth of smaller towns make for a far better CNY experience. There were lots of fireworks in the cities we stayed in up until Beijing, but Beijing went off. It was exciting but also terrifying to be walking the streets, you never knew when you were going to be hit by firework shrapnel. I love fireworks so I never got sick of it.

The fireworks at the Ice Festival were special, though. In hindsight it seems silly but  all of those statues made the addition of fireworks seem mind-blowing. I was so frustrated by the icy snow on the ground preventing me from running to get a better view. (I held on to my brother’s arm the whole night to keep from falling over. He was less than impressed.) I don’t remember seeing any other fireworks in Harbin; possibly it was too cold for setting off fireworks to be much fun.