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.