so, my eager readers, i know you are all thinking, what's up next for amanda? as i've got a lot of spare time at my job (which you may have noticed due to the frequency of my posts) , i've taken to pondering how i will spend my time when my job here concludes in mid-April. after thinking long and hard, here is my tentative itinerary:

april 12- the last day of my job. rejoice that i am, at least for the forseeable future, unemployed. no more having to answer to the man. get a mohawk.
april 13- throw a joint birthday party with my birthday bro Mike Hatch (i'm 4/21/84, he's 4/24/81. Yipes!)
april 14- hit the road with Dan-dan, bound for Yunnan. on the way we stop at a few choice locations, like chengdu and uh, some other places i'll think of after i peruse Lonely Planet a bit more.
april 21- my actual birthday, when i celebrate reaching the depressing age of 23. don't feel particularly depressed about it, but if i'm anything like the other people i know who have recently turned 23, will have to drown my sorrows in baijiu.
beginning of May- head down to thailand, laos and vietnam to check out what they've got going on. not sure if i'll visit all these places, but see what i can fit in. take that cooking class Carmen recommended.
mid-May- up to Xizang, known by you plebs as Tibet. join Richard Gere in the revolution and get a free "Free Tibet" shirt in the process.
early June- swing over to Xinjiang and gorge myself with chao pianr. do whatever else people do over there- as far as i can tell, wear funny hats and play spanish music.
mid-June- return to beijing, possibly by riding a horse bareback through the length of inner mongolia.
Late June-late August- Take language classes at BCLU. If i get one damn thing out of being here, besides fake asics, it will be a moderate proficiency at speaking chinese.
Early September- a visit from the 'rents! show them why i keep running off to china.

So that's it, my plan for the next eight months. i'm really excited about all this stuff, and i plan on returning to america in the fall an enlightened individual. and hopefully with a really hot tan. also, if anyone would like to be a part of my travels, let me know and i'll see if i can pencil you in.