Winter festival in the city of Harbin
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By San Francisco based Airport Operations Station Support Senior Coordinator, Maridol Olarte
Winter is often considered cold, gloomy and miserable. I didn't realize the true definition of cold until our recent trip to Harbin, China. Misery, however, was far from what I felt. Harbin is known for its bitterly cold winters. It is called the "Ice City" for its well-known Ice Sculpture Festival during the winter season. A festival that is claimed to be the largest of its kind in the world and the reason why we ventured to Harbin during the cold winter months.
Starting our trip from San Francisco we traveled to Beijing and once there we joined a locally organized all-inclusive private tour to the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival with co-workers and our families. Well prepared for subzero temperatures, our suitcases were full of bulky winter outfits. On our first day we started with three layers of winter clothing plus our winter coats, double layers of head covers and thick wool socks. The temperature that day was around 10 degrees. The next day it was negative 8 degrees so we added another layer of clothing, a neck warmer plus a jacket and an extra coat as well. On our third day it was even more cold with temps at negative 17 degrees so we added another thermal and a face mask. As you can imagine, we felt like we were dragging our bodies under this weight. To make matters worse, our cell phones froze and lost power in the cold very often. We had to use hand and foot warmers while holding them, as well as recharge them often. Going indoor to defrost every hour or so was a must. I know you're wondering… Is it worth going to this place with such drastic temperatures? The answer is: absolutely yes.
We started our first morning with a visit at the center of Stalin Park where stands the Flood Control Monument, built to commemorate the tremendous feat of the Harbin people in controlling the massive flood of 1957. On our way to the park, you can see giant snow sculptures all over the city, which are made from giant blocks of ice from the frozen Songhua river. Afterward, we continued on to Central Street, which is lined with stores and restaurants. Intrigued by locals eating ice cream on this bitter cold winter day, we decided to try it too and it was delicious. We then proceeded to the Ice Lantern Show in Zhaolin Park. The magical and extraordinary ice lanterns and sculptures have literally made the park an icy wonderland with colorful humongous ice sculptures.
Can you imagine swimming in freezing cold water? We watched a winter swimming performance on Songhua River and took part in some activities such as ice sloping and ice tubing. Taking a cable car ride across the river with the sight of the frozen water beneath you is a sight to behold. At the Ice and Snow Festival, there are many awesome ice and snow sculptures created by artists from all around the world. The freezing cold penetrates the bones, especially when you stay outside for longer periods of time, but the sight of the beautiful and impressive sculptures was so enjoyable we forgot about the cold.
This festival spreads across much of the city. You can see massive snow sculptures at Sun Island as well — located on the northern side of Songhua River and in downtown Harbin City. Sun Island is the only floodplain wetland ecology in a city center in China. The island is the pride of the locals and the pursuit of visitors. Each year, Sun Island becomes a paradise for the ice and snow festival sculptures art show. The island also has a zoo for Siberian tigers and provides a bus tour, allowing us to get close to the tigers. It was quite the adventure. Lastly, we visited Polarland, a theme park combining animal shows, polar land sights and interactive activities into one. Polarland is also located on Sun Island. This trip was a travel experience like no other on earth. The subzero temperatures didn't stop us from enjoying all of what the city has to offer. It was truly a trip of a lifetime.
Right now, around the world, brave members of America's armed forces are on duty, defending our freedom and upholding our values.
When not laser-focused on the mission at hand, they're looking forward to the day when their service to our nation is fulfilled and they can reunite with their families.
They are also imagining how they can use their hard-earned skills to build an exciting, rewarding and important career when they return home.
I want them to look no further than United Airlines.
That's why we are focused on recruiting, developing and championing veterans across our company, demonstrating to our returning women and men in uniform that United is the best possible place for them to put their training, knowledge, discipline and character to the noblest use.
They've developed their knowledge and skills in some of the worst of times. We hope they will use those skills to keep United performing at our best, all of the time.
That's why we are accelerating our efforts to onboard the best and the brightest, and substantially increasing our overall recruitment numbers each year.
We recently launched a new sponsorship program to support onboarding veterans into United and a new care package program to support deployed employees. It's one more reason why United continues to rank high - and rise higher - as a top workplace for veterans. In fact, we jumped 21 spots this year on Indeed.com's list of the top U.S workplaces for veterans. This is a testament to our increased recruiting efforts, as well as our efforts to create a culture where veterans feel valued and supported.
We use the special reach and resources of our global operations to partner with outstanding organizations. This is our way of stepping up and going the extra mile for all those who've stepped forward to answer our nation's call.
We do this year-round, and the month of November is no exception; however, it is exceptional, especially as we mark Veterans Day.
As we pay tribute to all Americans who have served in uniform and carried our flag into battle throughout our history, let's also keep our thoughts with the women and men who are serving around the world, now. They belong to a generation of post-9/11 veterans who've taken part in the longest sustained period of conflict in our history.
Never has so much been asked by so many of so few.... for so long. These heroes represent every color and creed. They are drawn from across the country and many immigrated to our shores.
They then freely choose to serve in the most distant and dangerous regions of the world, to protect democracy in its moments of maximum danger.
Wherever they serve - however they serve - whether they put on a uniform each day, or serve in ways which may never be fully known, these Americans wake up each morning willing to offer the "last full measure of devotion" on our behalf.
Every time they do so, they provide a stunning rebuke to the kinds of voices around the world who doubt freedom and democracy's ability to defend itself.
Unfortunately, we know there are those who seem to not understand – or say they do not - what it is that inspires a free people to step forward, willing to lay down their lives so that their country and fellow citizens might live.
But, we – who are both the wards and stewards of the democracy which has been preserved and handed down to us by veterans throughout our history – do understand.
We know that inciting fear and hatred of others is a source of weakness, not strength. And such divisive rhetoric can never inspire solidarity or sacrifice like love for others and love of country can.
It is this quality of devotion that we most honor in our veterans - those who have served, do serve and will serve.
On behalf of a grateful family of 96,000, thank you for your service.
Humbly,
Oscar
Each year around Veterans Day, Indeed, one of the world's largest job search engines, rates companies based on actual employee reviews to identify which ones offer the best opportunities and benefits for current and former U.S. military members. Our dramatic improvement in the rankings this year reflects a stronger commitment than ever before to actively recruiting, developing and nurturing veteran talent.
"We've spent a lot of time over the past 12 months looking for ways to better connect with our employees who served and attract new employees from the military ranks," said Global Catering Operations and Logistics Managing Director Ryan Melby, a U.S. Army veteran and the president of our United for Veterans business resource group.
"Our group is launching a mentorship program, for instance, where we'll assign existing employee-veterans to work with new hires who come to us from the armed forces. Having a friend and an ally like that, someone who can help you translate the skills you picked up in the military to what we do as a civilian company, is invaluable. That initiative is still in its infancy, but I'm really optimistic about what it can do for United and for our veteran population here."
Impressively, we were the only one of our industry peers to move up on the list, further evidence that we're on a good track as a company.
The question of where David Ferrari was had haunted retired U.S. Army Sergeant Major Vincent Salceto for the better part of 66 years.
Rarely did a week go by that Salceto didn't think about his old friend. Often, he relived their last moments together in a recurring nightmare. In it, it's once again 1953 and Salceto and Ferrari are patrolling a valley in what is now North Korea. Suddenly, explosions shatter the silence and flares light up the night sky.
Crouching under a barrage of bullets, Salceto, the squad's leader, drags two of his men to safety, then he sees Ferrari lying face down on the ground. He runs out to help him, but he's too late. And that's when he always wakes up.
Italian Americans from opposite coasts – Salceto from Philadelphia, Ferrari from San Francisco – the two became close, almost like brothers, after being assigned to the same unit during the Korean War. When Ferrari died, it hit Salceto hard.
"After that, I never let anyone get close to me like I did with Dave," he says. "I couldn't; I didn't want to go through that again."
When the war ended, Salceto wanted to tell Ferrari's family how brave their son and brother had been in battle. Most of all, he wanted to salute his friend at his gravesite and give him a proper farewell.
For decades, though, Salceto had no luck finding his final resting place or locating any of his relatives. Then, in June of this year, he uncovered a clue that led him to the Italian Cemetary in Colma, California, where Ferrari is buried.
Within days, Salceto, who lives in Franklinville, New Jersey, was packed and sitting aboard United Flight 731 from Philadelphia to San Francisco with his wife, Amy, and daughter, Donna Decker, on his way to Colma. For such a meaningful trip, he even wore his Army dress uniform.
That's how San Francisco-based flight attendant Noreen Baldwin spotted him as he walked down the jet bridge to get on the plane.
"I saw him and said to the other crew members, 'Oh my goodness, look at this guy,'" she says. "I knew there had to be a story."
The two struck up a conversation and Salceto told Baldwin why he was traveling. She got emotional listening to him talk and made a point of fussing over him, making sure he and his family had everything they needed.
About halfway through the flight, Baldwin had an idea. She and her fellow crew members would write messages of encouragement to Salceto and invite his fellow passengers to do the same.
"We did it discreetly," says Baldwin. "I asked the customers if they saw the man in uniform, which most had, and asked them if they wanted to write a few words for him on a cocktail napkin. A lot of people did; families did it together, parents got their kids to write something. After the first few rows, I was so choked up that I could barely talk."
When Baldwin surprised Salceto with dozens of hand-written notes, he, too, was speechless. He laid the stack on his lap and read each one. At the same time, the pilots made an announcement about the veteran over the loud speaker, after which the customers on board burst into applause.
"It seems contrived, and I hate using the word organic, but that's what it was; it just happened," Baldwin says. "Mr. Salceto was so loveable and humble, and what he was doing was so incredible, it felt like the right thing to do. And you could tell he was touched."
On June 27, Salceto finally stood before Ferrari's grave and said that long-awaited goodbye. As a trumpeter played "Taps," he unpinned a medal from his jacket and laid it reverently on the headstone.
"I had gotten a Bronze Star for my actions [the night Ferrari died] with a 'V' for valor, and that was the medal I put on Dave's grave," says Salceto, pausing to fight back tears. "I thought he was more deserving of it than I was."
For the first time in years, Salceto felt at peace. His mission was accomplished.
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