I cannot BEGIN to tell you how hot it is here at the moment. I went out for lunch today, and whilst I was standing there while it was being prepared - 5 minutes at MOST- I got sunburn on my shoulders. My black shoes were painful, because they were so hot. It's insane. It's a dry heat too, the humidity has dropped so now it's just bare heat! Two of the air conditioners in the school have broken - and muggins here had one of them first thing this morning. Saturday morning is the home to my worst class anyway, so add insane temperature to their lesson, urgh they were unbearable! Stinkers.

I've been thinking about home a lot today. It's August tomorrow, and it's so weird thinking that's the month I go home! I've been thinking of all the things I'll miss, and of the things I definitely won't..

I'll miss:

• my kids in HF5a and HF4a... they MAKE my weekends here
• Beijing. I've fallen in love with that city.
• My daily peanut butter fix - I know we have peanut butter, but it's not the same!
• Cindy the receptionist. This girl bends over BACKWARDS to help you. She's an absolute star.
• My weekend lunch of chicken bits, and some local bread. OH so yummy!
• Jinan City Square - I've never seen a place so full of life, all through the week. There's so much going on there all the time, it's different every time I'm there :)
• My room - I've grown quite attached to it, and made it my own :)
• The other teachers - the others for the most part are amazing people. Both the foreign and the local teachers. Great bunch of people, and you can have some real laughs :)
• Air conditioning - it's EVERYWHERE here, and I want one in my room!
• Food stalls - Walk down any street in Jinan, and you'll be able to buy food. The variety is amazing, even if the quality of hygiene isn't...
• Tsing Tao beer - SO CHEAP. Damn expensive English beer...!
• The difference in the life here, and the UK. It's just awesome that I can walk out, and see so much. It makes you think, and I appreciate so much more. THese people have to work so damn hard, and they usually are pretty cheerful through it!

There's more, but those are the ones that stick out to me at the moment. Of course, there's those things that I won't miss...;

• People spitting. They hawk it right up, and gob it out. Everywhere. It's usually older men that do it, and it makes me want to vom.
• People staring. I understand they're not used to foreigners... but do you have to stare QUITE so intensely?! We've had people literally stop to stare, and following us. It gets kinda crazy.
• The traffic. Both the amount of it, and the noise! I will never get used to the incessant beeping.

Urgh, it'll be SO nice to walk down the street unnoticed!

I can't believe I've been here 5 weeks already. Boggles my brain that does. I only have 3 Saturdays left. As eager as I am to be home, it's going to be hard to leave!

This week and weekend have been pretty standard, so I do apologise for the boring updates! Hopefully I'll have something interesting for you soon! :)