Today was the birthday of my team-mate and frequent sidekick to my antics. We celebrated by inviting over about 20 friends. Most came. We ordered food from a nearby restaurant and then spent the evening eating, talking, laughing, snowboarding on the Wii, and making faces for photos. After that, we did what would naturally cap off an evening of birthday festivity: ktv (karaoke).
The highlight of the night, though, goes to a dear friend whom we met at the very beginning of our Harbin adventure and who was with us for our entire first year, but then he graduated and took a job in the southern city of Shenzhen. We miss him dearly. Maybe me, most of all. His loyalty and thoughtfulness are off the charts, and I yearn for the day when he's an eternal brother.
He secretly came back home to Harbin for Spring Festival and somehow - in the frenzy of activity tonight - weazled past me and hid in my bathroom until the Birthday Boy told me that he had a surprise for me. Out stepped our beloved friend whom I haven't seen since last June.
My mouth dropped open and I hugged him at least - AT LEAST - three times, the first two just to make sure it was real.
He will be in town for the next several days. We already reminisced tonight by singing some of our favorite songs together.
The gift of our close Chinese friends here is more than I ever asked for or imagined, and I am overjoyed that our little family will be complete for at least a little while.
