We've been busily working on things over here for the past couple of weeks. After Huangshan it took a number of days for us to get our energy back. As you all know, we have purchased a VPN, so we have access to things like Pandora, Facebook, Youtube, and other sites that we could not previously access due to the great firewall. This is a treat after so long without streaming music and weekly sitcoms...it's the little things, but without them it became obvious how much we took such access for granted. You all may have seen the cardboard castle we constructed as well...this was a fun project and the kids love it. Ramsay gae his midterms last week, and all of his students are doing well, minus a few who have been struggling from the beginning. These are the ones that the educational system and the school have simply let down, those who are so far behind that it is difficult for them to follow a simple lesson. Jack had a wonderful series of birthday parties, including a party with Ramsay's class here at SFLS, and one at home. He got presents and cards from both of Ramsay's classes, and the cards were really neat, creative constructs of the kid's minds. We will put some pictures of them up as time allows. He also got a number of lego sets, which certainly thrilled him the most. The presents he received from his family back in Asheville were also a great experience for him. Jack's reading has really improved, and his math is going well. We are introducing a number of science concepts and some geography lessons to him as well. Sophia's personality is growing by leaps and bounds, and she is incredibly comfortable with Chinese people now. Ramsay is reading his twelfth book since he got to China, this one on Alexander Von Humboldt and his affect on the modern environmentalist movement. The book he is writing is progressing at a good rate, with over 140,000 words. Megan is becoming a teacher-extraordinaire.

Other than that things are normalizing and the weather is cooling, though not as much as it is back in Asheville. We continue to explore physically and mentally, and one of our favorite things is to try new foods. We tried the notorious stinky tofu recently, which has a stink about it for sure, but which tastes delicious. We also recently discovered these desert that consist of baked balls of dough filled with creme, like an Asian donut but better. We continue to enjoy the street food near the campus as well! Ramsay just picked up some extra hours at the second school so that is nice.

That's it for now. We will talk to you all soon!

Love!