What a month!!

July has come and gone leaving us hot & SWEATY!!! At the beginning of the month, I thought...it can't possibly get any hotter than it is now. Boy, was I wrong. This is the hottest, most humid weather I have ever experienced. Right now, it is 3 in the afternoon and the temperature on our sun soaked porch is reading 126.3 degrees. Last night as I was talking to my family, (who were complaining about wearing long-sleeves) the temperature was reading 101.7 degrees...at 11:30 at NIGHT!! We can't seem to get a break, and I have a feeling August has more hot weather and sweat soaked clothing in store for us!!
Ralphie still continues to adjust to his life in China. He is not a fan of the heat. We take him outside where he immediately does his business and then pulls us back to the apartment. He collapses on the floor panting, and occasionally takes dips in his water bowl when he knows we aren't watching! ;) He has made some friends here and enjoys playing with them. He still continues to be shy when we have guests over, but is warming up to some of our friends who come over frequently. He actually makes me feel like a bad Mom when he cowers away from people trying to give him treats, but then bounces around the apartment like a crazy dog when only Andre & I are here. Hopefully he will get used to everyone soon. After a month and a half, though, he still isn't used to our maid. The good thing is that he usually doesn't bark when she comes in anymore, but he still runs away from her if she gets too close for too long, or she talks to him a lot. He appears to still be freaked by the Chinese language. I am sure after a year or two of living here, he won't even understand our English anymore!! :)
I was supposed to start work on the 6th of July, which fell through at the last minute. The government mandated that all summer schools & programs close for the summer due to H1N1. Because of this, I won't start until August 17th (MY BIRTHDAY!!). This will be orientation, as the students don't start until the end of the month. I am really anxious to start, and I know I will have many fun stories and pictures to post then!!
Andre has been busy visiting factories and travels around 2 times per month. He enjoys staying busy & does not like times that are slow.
I have a week off at the end of September/beginning of October and we have just booked tickets to Malaysia. We will be staying 2 days in the city of Kuala Lumpur and then traveling to Langkawi Island to relax at the beach and spend some time snorkeling and doing some diving. We are REALLY looking forward to this vacation, and have heard some really wonderful things about Malaysia.
I will be sure to update again after my birthday. I know I will have lots to share as I start my job and we spend my last free weekend in HK with friends to celebrate the big 2-7! :)