The US Figure Skating Championships have begun in Spokane, WA and Michelle Kwan is thousands of miles away, across the Pacific Ocean. In her new role as America’s first “public diplomacy envoy,” Kwan is on a two-week trip to Beijing, Guangzhou and Hong Kong. A conversation with Condoleezza Rice at last year’s White House state dinner in for Chinese President Hu Jintao sparked Kwan’s assignment. She has not officially retired from skating but she’s focused on her studies at the University of Denver, including classes in Mandarin and political science.