I usually hoped to see heavy snow until the end of 2007. Before that, beautiful scenes on TV attracted me a lot. Just before New Year‘s of 2008, it came true, but I ended up regretting my childish wish for it.

I hadn’t been home until the last day before the New Year. During the winter vacation I got a job in Laying Crazy English Training School as an assistant teacher. The weather was deadly cold after my final examination. Seven days later, I was ready to go to the training camp. I got up very early for a morning meeting. The water tap was frozen so that I had to buy mineral water to wash. When all had been finished, my friends and I were about to go. It was shock the moment we opened the door, a gust of piercing cold wind rushed toward us and there were icicles hanging on all sides of the roofs, surprising us. It was beautiful!

All the grounds outside were covered with ice, which made us have to move carefully to the bus station. When we arrived, so many people were standing there. All the buses too! We were told that the buses couldn’t leave for safety reasons until the ice on the ground melted. At last, I made my trip on the bus at 2 o’clock that afternoon. When we got off the bus, it was even colder with both rain and snow.

During the following days, we had to take care of all the students. Anywhere outside the classroom was dangerous for them to play. White was the only color. What was the most important thing was that we had to keep asking the students whether they felt cold during the night. We all had to take two or more quilts to each person. I had three but still I had a cold by the forth day.

From the first day of work, my parents kept calling me to see when I would be home. They emphasized again and again that the way home had been clogged for cars or buses had all ceased because of the snow and ice. They also told me that the business was not as good as before because nobody wanted to be out shopping during such cold days. I didn’t know whether I could be home for my family reunion. But I knew it was a challenge for me to live without my parents by my side.

On the forth day, one of my friends phoned me that his train home was also forced to stay until the next day, another friend said he was clogged on the way home.

The strongest feeling during the 8 days of my teaching life was that I felt so cold everyday and night. On the sixth day, my father called me again since he was worried whether I had enough money for the fare. The fare was usually 60 Yuan, but then it was more than 300 Yuan. I didn’t know what a mess it had been outside. I could just guess how serious the trouble of the snowy days had brought to us.

On the eighth day, I would go home. I felt sad for leaving my students. The worst worry I had was whether I would have to stop on my way home, but fortunately, I got home smoothly.

In the past, snow meant beauty in my mind but now it means disaster.