In answer to your questions

One of the most common questions Kevin and I have received over the past few weeks is, "Where are you going to be in China?" And we answer, with as much detail as possible, "I don't know." Guess what? With three and a half months left to departure now we do know! So let's try that again.
You: "Where are you going to be in China?"
Me: "Weinan!"
You: "Hey, that's great!...But, uh, that means nothing to me, you know."
Me: "Excellent. Now I can tell you something you don't know and thereby sound smart and informed."

Weinan is located in central China in Shaanxi province (not to be confused with Shanxi province next door). It is 39 miles from Xian, which is where the Terracotta Soldiers are. Weinan itself is a pretty small city, something around 300,000. The area is mountainous with a famous mountain (Huashan) nearby.


I am happy about this location because:
1. It is north of the heat line! North of the Yangtze River, the buildings are actually heated during the winter! I might be able to teach without gloves.
2. It is not too far north. It looks like the climate is pretty agreeable, not too much colder than Yangzhou, though probably a good deal drier. It is still a good deal south of Beijing.
3. It is a small city, which is what we requested. I like to visit places like Beijing but it makes me feel a little claustrophobic.
4. Xian is only about an hour away and has an international airport! It also has several western places, so hopefully we'll be able to find some things there we can't get in our city.
5. There are mountains nearby.
6. The Hanings, my former teammates, will be in a city close by during the fall.

Speaking of teammates, Kevin and I will have two teammates this fall - a single girl, Christina, and single guy, Wes. They have both been around in China for at least several years. We don't know them yet, but they look familiar. We'll be finding out more about them in the upcoming months and much, much more during this next year.

I have included three images for your benefit.
1.The first is presumably a panorama of the valley area of Weinan. I say presumably because I found these things on the internet and everyone says you can't believe everything you find. I've never actually been to Weinan so for all I know, it could be a picture of Mississippi.
2. The second is a map of China with Shaanxi province in red. I took the liberty of marking the approximate locations of Weinan (where I will be), Yangzhou (where I was) and Beijing (where everyone knows about).
3. The third is presumably a photo of Huashan. This is doesn't look much like Mississippi, so I think it's the real thing.

*All of my information comes from what I could glean from scant references on (that's right) the internet. No doubt when I get to Weinan half of my information will be proven false. Hopefully we'll be finding out some more pertinent details soon. I just hope the part about the heat is true...