10...

There's only ten days left until lift off. I haven't written in quite some time due to a heavy work and school load. I'm not taking any classes this summer, but have spent a lot of time on research. I won't post the entire research background here as it's a bit long and kinda boring. To summarize the plan: I'll be arriving in China on the night of the 22nd. On the 23rd I'll be taking care of the necessities (cell phone, bicycle, toilet paper, etc.) with a former exchange student as my guide. On the 24th, I'll (hopefully) be making my first visit to the school for the deaf. I am no longer looking into doing research on deaf education but rather, want to find out about the status of deaf adults in China. What do deaf people do when they graduate from school? Where are they? Do they gather in community groups? Are they isolated?
I'll be spending fall semester visiting the Chengdu School for the Deaf. The visits will help me familiarize myself with the sign language. I will also use this opportunity to seek out interpreters. I am going to interview the educators at the school to find out where their former students are. I'll be asking them where deaf adults work, if they continue on into higher education, and where they gather.
Spring semester will be spent interviewing deaf adults. I hope to make a trip to Tianjin University of Technology, which has a deaf student track. There I will interview deaf students. I want to ask them about standardization of Chinese Sign Language. I also want to speak to them about their hopes for the deaf community.
Anyway, that's all for now. I'll be sure to post again tomorrow, and I promise to make it a bit more interesting...