2 fine weeks

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23:11 Beijing time
Monday nights here in China have mostly consisted of erratic bouts of withdrawal symptoms from the Jericho Tavern's weekly pub quiz. Monday night is quiz night, not Wednesday, and certainly not Saturday. I wish those flying the flag in the absence of the most incapable of team players the best of luck, but I rest assured knowing that I have more chance of winning the particularly American question based one at 'Lush' here than they do of reliving that unforgettable night of some time last term (I can't remember when).
Anyhow, whilst I am willing to give the Chinese credit for some inventions, namely toilet paper, the wheelbarrow, and magic mirrors, however the 8am start for university classes is certainly an epic mistake. Wednesday through Friday consist of early battles with the most annoying of Samsung alarm clocks, cold sugary coffee, and a taxi driver intent on mowing down as many bicycle enthusiasts as possible. It also means that even though classes finish relatively early, one (me) cannot be motivated to sit down and learn Chinese characters when 6 cans of Beijing's finest (Yanjing Beer) costs a mere £1.25. Moreover, the prospect of throwing some moves until the wee hours in the many clubs is made sour by the thought of 3 hours sleep until the aforementioned sequence of hellish events.
Last Friday was much looked forward to and a club that I remembered from last time I was here was top of the list of things to do. As I recalled it had a large bouncing dancefloor, a lack of health and safety resulting in people spitting fire off the bartop, and Russian dancers descending from the ceiling. Only the bouncing dancefloor was still in use, but I seem to remember the other two being a bit unnecessary anyway. So our night at GT Banana was very memorable and a good time was had by all - except the overly enthusiastic gay Chinese men from whom we swiftly bounced away. Saturday and Sunday were thus recovery (if many Yanjings with a few Amaretto's thrown in are classed as medicinal)
The weather has also changed very rapidly from being colder than England 2 weeks ago to pretty much twice as hot as it is going to be at the peak of the English summer. This has left me a little unprepared for the hot weather ahead, and also regretful over the amount of warm jumpers I brought with me.
Not too much more to say right now as it is the start of the week except that I need to get on the case of a sports bar that will be showing the mighty Arsenal at 3am Wednesday.

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