Trying desperately to update!

We are in Beijing and our VPN is not working like it should but we will do our best to update.  We have been on a whirlwind adventure since last Saturday and tomorrow is the last day of our tour.  We will take the high speed rail from Beijing back to Shanghai tomorrow, travel to Nanjing on Saturday for our teacher orientation and then head to Rugao on Sunday in order to prepare to teach on Monday.  We are so very thankful to have had this truly incredible week not only touring China, but getting to know the people and culture.  We have been rendered utterly speechless many, many times by the awe and beauty of this place and have cried tears of joy on more than one occasion.  Fair warning, the following posts will be incredibly verbose, but not only are we attempting to put into words all that we have experienced for you, family and friends, but this will be our personal accounts to help us remember and reflect.