I took this stuff out of my last entry as I wasn't sure that writing it was a good idea, but my friends have demanded that I put it back in (attention seekers that they are) and so here we are guys, this entry is all about you.fficeffice" />

My BC friends are all getting on very well as respectable teachers and the blokes are seen as being English gentlemen, very popular with both staff and students. They are very proper and polite and mature and sensible. But come the weekend, they suddenly transform into totally crazy creatures. Being with them can be a little embarassing sometimes! Of course, even though sometimes I wish I could pretend I didn't know them, I do love them all and am very happy to be in this group, as in the whole of ffice:smarttags" />China's BC teachers, we are the closest-knit bunch here in Chongqing and I really couldn't have chosen a nicer group of people to spend the year with. But come Friday night everything really does get silly sometimes. I think most other people I know grew out of this kind of behaviour after their first year of uni, but not Fred and Olli. Two recent examples of their antics include: getting drunk and eating live tropical fish out of the ornamental fish tank of a nice restaurant to name one small incident which took place a few weeks ago, or going to a British Consulate do, whipping off their shirts after dinner, and insisting that the Consul General judge their manly muscles and skills as they race to see who can do more press-ups in the space of a minute, to name another. And almost every weekend you can see such things as roly-polys on the dance floor which causes a little chaos, or people being picked up and carried around (and occasionally dropped). I could mention more but I have to censor this a little as I don't want to get anyone into trouble. It is all a little ridiculous and I don't think being drunken 'Brits abroad' is really the image that the British Council recruited us to promote. But somehow, even though at times there are moments when I think, uh-oh, they've gone too far this time, people never seem to be offended or annoyed with them for long. A simple, "oh, only joking!", or an "I love China!" shouted loudly in Chinese will get everyone around smiling again, and sometimes a table of people will come to toast us all and say how happy they are to meet us. These bizarre Friday nights are breaking up a little, as Fred has started going away for weekends, I have started spending more time with my Chinese friends, and Jenni and Alex are not always around. But those evenings in the first half of the year will remain forever, for better or for worse, as an unforgettable part of my year in China. There's Ian, who doesn't like rice and doesn't like spicy food. No-one's quite sure why he came to China, and even less to Chongqing, which has the spiciest food in the country. And then there's Julia who's the new girl, she came about a month ago just for one term, and also went to Bristol uni and is posh (I'm not being nasty she just gets called posh by everyone). So there we go people you have your own little entry in my blog for all the world to see.