Shall we go for a drink? By our guest bloggers Shen Wei from Britain

Shall we go for a drink?

One thing I still could not understand is English people's passion for a drink. Of course, people do drink in China, and quite a lot. But Chinese usually drink with meal at home, or in the restaurant. And generally speaking, drinking is men's thing. Women tend not to drink or drink very little. In England, however, everyone seems to like a glass of beer. And there are even places for drinking. I have just learned to distinguish pub from bar. They are quite similar. Both are places for drinking, but pub is more traditional. Its target consumers are maily the residents living nearby. Bar is frequented more by young people. Therefore it is easier to find bars in big cities or around universities than in some small villages. An English friend told me that he likes drinking, but he always goes there with friends or family, never alone. "You only meet your classmate once a week on class. If you feel you want to know more about this person, you might probably ask him or her to the bar to have a drink. That's a natural way to make friends." "Why don't you drink at home? "I asked."Maybe I could meet many people there. I like to see people around me all talking happily; though I probably will not talk with them...It is a dispressing thing to enter into a pub, only to find few people sitting there." Here I come to understand the pub culture of England. Drinking is a social activity of English people just like eating in the Chinese culture. We share food, they drink together.