You know it's nearly summer in China when...

• ...the women have exchanged their knee-high black boots for strappy open-toed shoes (which are always to be worn with flesh-colored ankle socks).
• ...your students come to class in dresses straight out of the Barbie catalogue.
• ...your classroom could be easily mixed up with a sauna.
• ...the school's policy requiring teacher's to wear sleeved shirts seems like the cruelest form of torture possible.
• ...all you can think about is that long flight back to the Prairie and the joys of being able to buy a finely-aged cheddar without having to hop on a 3 hour train to Beijing.

Hey Hilary, what's been going on lately? Glad you asked!

-I just recently returned from an amazing three weeks of worldly traveling to realize I still have a month of teaching and no lesson plans in mind.

-I spent a weekend in Beijing being spoiled by Dave's parents and showered with Mojitos and Gin and Tonics, delicious!!

-I finally began to recover from a plague of mosquito bites and have now developed a rash. I managed to go see a doctor who gave me a prescription for some little white pills, which conveniently don't have an English translation.

-I got a second opinion on my rash and was told that it is a form of "speckles." Yes, Chinese medical terminology is just that advanced.

-I've been attacked by mosquitoes again. So, in addition to sweating profusely in the sweltering heat and trying my darnedest not to scratch my ever-so-attractive rash, I now have large red welts all over. I'm beginning to suspect the air-pollution makes the mosquito's toxin all the more deathly... not that I'm complaining.

Conversation of the Week

Random Chinese Girl: Excuse me, could you help me with something?
Hilary: Of course...
RCG: How do you spell the city of Canada called Toronto?

This conversation came as a shock to me for a few reasons:
1-I was drenched in rain and wandering around Guangzhou looking for an ATM with Dave.
2-I'm not used to Chinese people speaking English so well outside of the classroom.
3-I had smugly assumed she would be asking to take a picture with the token foreigners, not for spelling advice...My g-d I've turned into an arrogant snob!

One of the problems with finding hotels via the internet is the inability to really get a feel for their reputation. When we checked into our hotel in Nanning, we were quite pleased with our beautifully decorated surroundings. However, we arrived at our room to discover a variety of oils and other unmentionables on our bed stand, available for purchase from the hotel. It was then that the little lightbulb in my head put those items together, with the neighborhood we were in, and promptly started flashing a "Rooms for rent, by the hour" sign.

Traveling Firsts
-The amount of bug bites I managed to amass in such a short period of time. 4 in one sitting at the WC...hehe, WC!
-Being stuck in a tropical rainstorm every day, at the same time, for an entire week.
-Cockroaches as big as chihuahuas that seem to outnumber all residents of Southeast Asia.
...and my absolute favorite - The looks of bewilderment, and subsequent helplessness, across the faces of the Chinese people whose escalator had just stopped working. It took them a full minute to start walking down the newly-stationary stairs.

Well, I've been on a tropical island for the last few days and it only seems fair that I impart some of the valuable lessons that I've learned...

-I can withstand blisteringly hot temperatures, as long as there is below 30% humidity...In other words, Southern Thailand is not somewhere I could settle down. Kansas in May seems like a cool sip of Lipton's right now.


-There have been numerous casualties during my visits, mainly pertaining to my clothing and toiletries. Thus far, I've managed to lose the bug spray, a bottle of gin, and most of my composure.


-Thanks to the tropical rainstorms , and yes, I like to emphasize that I have been in a few tropical storms of late, I have lost 2 pairs of sandals. Apparently, wearing my Tevas out in the rain around Hanoi allowed them to collect various samples of many a stool. Vigorous washing did not prove successful. Mold, and then abandonment, ensued.

Since I'm not in Vietnam, I didn't just return from a fabulous 2 day cruise into Halong Bay. Although, I'm sure if I had just enjoyed a sun-filled weekend, amazing food, and a beautiful private cabin, I would never gloat about it on my blog. That would just be in poor taste.

-I must admit I feel rather slighted, never having enjoyed the wonder that is Vietnamese Chicken with Lemongrass and Chili. However, I could do without the torrential downpours that are predicted for the next week.

-As I was saying, it's more than refreshing to be surrounded by a language other than Chinese...And, despite my maturity, seeing a Vietnamese sign that reads "Duc Phuc" gives me the giggles.

-Among the fascinating new things I've not come across in Vietnam, the Elephant Cow is my favorite. Northern Vietnam is covered in beautiful green farmland, which is in turn covered with massive cows which appear to have the skin of elephants...My next task is to smuggle one home with me.

-I've recently been introduced to the phenomenon of Google Analytics. It's just perfect for someone like me, who compulsively likes to check how many people read their blog...So, I know there's a few of you out there, start posting comments!

It's a rainy day in the neighborhood...At least, that's if your neighborhood is Hanoi. Not that I'm in Hanoi, because I'm in America for Uncle Bob's wedding. I would never ever clandestinely take time off from work to hop borders in southeast Asia. So, I know offer you the musings of my alter-ego, who just happens to be traversing around Vietnam and Thailand. Vietnam is amazing. Just getting out of China in and of itself is a wondrous relief from the ordinary. Hanoi is just as busy as Beijing, but with even more deranged traffic. We've been offered to following advice for crossing busy streets: Just walk across slowly, but, whatever you do, don't stop. It's a real adrenaline rush after you escape several near-misses from more motorbikes than you can count on both hands. My first few days were spent sightseeing, stuffing myself, and dodging traffic.

The few things I've left to conquer include my fear of riding motorbikes, and the humid disaster that is my hair. My only hope now is that the day-long torrential rains might deter the cockroaches from skittering out of the sewers tonight. Oh, Vietnam!