Synopsis of Research in Shanghai (Sept 3 - Nov 30)：
Gill is studying fiction writing and working on her thesis: a novella about the parallel lives of one woman: with children in one section and without children in another. Gill is interested in studying in Shanghai, as she’d like to put her protagonist as far away from America as possible as a means to challenge her during an impending divorce, something devastating, bewildering, and rather exhilarating that she is currently facing after 15 years of marriage, and with no children. Gill believe’s China's distinctive culture, people, and topography would inspire her to enrich this novella with an authentic write what you know: a woman on a journey to discover life on the other side of a broken marriage "hnyn" in Chinese. China has a long, storied, and intriguing history of love and union, with roots in Confucianism and the lore of Nwa and Fu Xi.