Words of the Week (as promised)

1. 海南 Hǎinán ：Literally meaning "Sea South," Hainan is the largest island in the South China Sea, south of China and east of Vietnam. I will be staying there on a ten-week internship with an organization called Sea Turtles 911 (http://www.seaturtles911.org/) If you know about the Gulf of Tonkin incident, Hainan is just to the East of that gulf.

2. 云南 Yúnnán ：Literally meaning "Clouds South," such a delightful name is given to the province I will spend the second part of my trip in. The second program starts at the very end of August, and I will be living in the dorms at Yunnan University with a Chinese roommate. All of my classes will be taught entirely in Mandarin and there will be a language pledge. I'm planning on taking Kunming Studies (Kunming is the capital of Yunnan, where I will be,) Chinese Environment and Development, and Yunnan Ethnic Minority Studies as well as a self-designed (hopefully) Dance Ethnography of Yunnan class. :) 

Yunnan is known for its biodiversity and ethnic diversity. It was also historically important because Kunming was the endpoint of the Burma Road in WWII.