My sister's invitation to participate in the Harbin Olympiade for synchronized skating meant that our Christmas trip was delayed until February. Being from Chicago, I thought I was accustomed to the biting cold, but ending up practically in Siberia meant that we were allowed only 20 minutes to explore Harbin's Ice and Snow Festival in 2009, an event that takes ice blocks out of the Songhua river to create palaces, bridges and pagodas and color them with lights. The festival lasts one month, but my sister and I will remember running and sliding on the ice for years.