Hello all! As promised, here’s the non-Kickstarter and barely work-related update that I promised back in August. Hope all of you are well and enjoying whatever activities are filling up your days!Right now I’m sitting outside with beer at a tranquil retreat called Natural Home, nestled in the bamboo forest of Moganshan, China. It’s about 5 hours by motorcycle southwest of Shanghai. This last week has been unbelievable, not only as a result of the scenery (which was magnificent), but also by reminding me of things I haven’t had time to think about recently. For some reason, Tracy Chapman has been on repeat in my head since we set off :].There is something truly freeing about traveling by motorcycle that I’ve never experienced before. Your senses are somehow heightened and you interact more directly with your surroundings. Riding reminded me of the freedom an open road offers and I now understand why people are drawn to it despite the danger. I’m very fortunate that my friend offered to share this experience with me. We road …

Ni hao! Most of you probably know by now that I’m in Kunming studying Chinese. I apologize for the mass message, but I wanted to share my experience thus far with friends and this is the best way to do it beyond the photos and 140 character updates on Twitter and Facebook :]. Hope you enjoy it and I look forward to hearing from you!Learning Chinese was a goal I left on the back burner for ages. My fascination with Asia started almost 8 years ago and shows no signs of diminishing. After a bit of research and discussion, I was able to find a private tutor and home stay in Kunming for 8 weeks that fits my needs. Here I can study 1/2 the day and work the other 1/2 while being immersed in the language and culture. I feel very thankful that my co-founders gave me the time and space to pursue this and lucky that I found an experience that’s the right fit for me. Thanks to everyone who helped make it possible!Kunming is the capital of the Yunnan province in southwest China. It’s nickname is …