The answer to the question so many people have asked me recently was
finally given to me today when I found out that I am going to spend
the next two years in Kaili, a small city just outside Guiyang, the
capital of Guizhou province. All in all, I am more than thrilled
about my placement. The 'city' has around 500,000 people, which by
Chinese standards is absolutely tiny. I will spend the next week
exploring my new home while staying with a host family, so I will have
more to say about my site then. Nevertheless, at this point, I still
have some information gathered only from word of mouth, wikipedia, and
google.cn. So far, I have been told that Kaili is a hub of minority
culture (specifically that of the Miao), boasts some of the most
beautiful topography in all of China (search for "Karst mountains"),
and has breathtakingly –more like breathGIVingly– fresh air (once
again, that's by Chinese standards). The only bummer I've encountered
thus far is learning that my month+ of Mandarin will be of little use
in a province where over 129 different dialects are spoken. I guess
that makes me feel a little less guilty for watching Harry Potter
XVIII last night instead of practicing my Mandarin.
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