Contrary to what many of you might think I am not dead!

It is my first free weekend in a while and I have decided to come out from behind China's great Firewall. I realize that my posts have been really scare. This is not because of a lack of topics or news, but rather an overload. I have been overwhelmed with experiences in the month and a half I have been here. So, after not posting for over a month where do I start? I guess the best way would be just to give a rundown of what I have been up to. After spring festival classes resumed and I moved into my Chinese homestay. I have met up with the other Mac students in Beijing; been to the Silk Market twice (knockoff everything usually for less than $20 US); eased my way into using squatters; taken my first Chinese test, started my internship, spent 12 days in Yunnan province, 4 days in a Tibetan village, 5 hours in a spa, and 2 hours using Yaks to plow fields (I would love to know an Iowan farmer's impression on their farming practices) and it wasn't the fertile fields of the Midwest but more of a claylike dirt on the Tibetan Plateau. When we first got here IES made us make goals that we wanted to accomplish in our time in China, this is also a pretty good indicator of what I have been up to and a testament to how busy I have been.  Here is my list with checkmarks next to those that I have finished.

• Have a successful conversation with a cab driver (X)
• Improve my awareness and ability to deal with tones (in the process)
• Bargain with a street dealer to get something at 1/3 of the original offered price (X)
• Ride a bike during rush hour (X)
• Avoid any stomach/bowel/digestion problems (laduzi/diarrhea is the infamous one) (It turns out this is nearly impossible in China and I failed this goal)
• Spend 5+ hours in a Spa (X)
• Visit Shanghai
• Eat Korean food in Wudaokou (X)
• See a live panda
• Get into the habit of doing Yoga again (X)
• See old people doing QiGong in the parks in the morning (X)
• Learn the names of all the Chinese professors at IES (X)
• Play soccer with some Chinese kids (X)
• Visit Sichuan
• Understand how to navigate Chinese versions of Youtube (X)
• Get a massage (X)
• Settle into some sort of daily routine (X)