Thanks for your comments - some answers to questions

Thanks for all of your comments. Here's my best shot at answering your questions. . .

Baoji is about 1 hour (fast) train ride west of Xian. I think it has about 300,000 people - a small city for China, but big enough. I loved the experience. I know what you mean about always being on call for practicing English. I was lucky to live in an apartment with some people who didn't speak English so I got to try out my Mandarin there and as I navigated from Beijing to Baoji and back. I am green with envy reading about your recent visit to China! :)

Homeschool - I loved homeschooling too. It got more difficult as my son got older. I live in a rural area and most non-religious homeschoolers ended up sending their kids to school and we were kind of on our own for the high school years. He ended up taking a couple classes at the high school just for the social contact.

Right now, my son is working for a polling company, working on music and writing on the side. He tried college for a year, but didn't like it much. He may have been unprepared for the structure after 12 years of "interest-led learning". It has been a bit hard for me to let him find his way since I am so academically-oriented. At this moment, he is looking into applying for college to study psychology. Now it is ME who isn't quite sure he is suited for academia LOL. But I am very proud of his independent and responsible decision-making. I'm also a bit envious of where you are in homeschooling. Enjoy!

Mr. Wellen:
I'm not sure what I would advise in choosing a language. If it's just marketability you're looking at, I'd probably go with Spanish. As you know, Mandarin is pretty tough. I've been studying on my own for over five years and am still only at an intermediate level. That can get discouraging if you don't love it. Fortunately, I have a great passion for it, but I'm not sure most people would want to plow on without least some affinity for the language and culture.