The Drop

Week 7

So how is Paris? Right as rain.

Wednesday

Stayed up late Tuesday night so didn’t get up too much on Wednesday. As I don’t work on Wednesdays it has become my chill day during the week anyway. Just relaxed at home, watched some vids on TV. Nothing much to say there.

Thursday

Work today was a rollercoaster, had one absolutely unbearable class. Kids kept messing around, refusing to participate and just being general nuisances, it was a nightmare and I really got depressed about it. In the end I had to switch my students for some other ones because I just couldn’t get on with the class while they were there.

I now have a newfound appreciation for teachers that deal with troublesome kids or troublesome schools in general. After being on the other side of the fence, you really appreciate how difficult and demoralizing it can be when students just make your life hell. Anyway, after that class all I wanted to do was go home and relax but luckily my next class were complete angels. Their level was pretty poor and some couldn’t even say my name is x, but they all got involved and really tried hard which is all that matters really. Also, at the end of the class my students thanked me, actually thanked me for the lesson. It felt so rewarding I tell you!!!! I can really appreciate the value or desire of being a teacher; because at that one moment, when my students thanked me,  I was OVER THE MOON. I really felt like I had accomplished something and I went home with a spring in my step.

Also finally got back into sport today – I’ve been off for a while because I would always be out or something would be on at the time. And as I went to the session with my two buddies I was ready for death. Death you say? Yes death. Let me explain, in my first week here while looking for which club I wanted to join, I went to many different training sessions and each one was more exhausting than the previous one! E.g. On one training session, the warm up was a 30 minute (excessive non?) jog, through the town. Which included going up and down hills at basically ninety degrees. Then suicides and then a full on match for an ONE HOUR?????? I mean I wasn’t exactly in great shape after am exercise free summer but still, I’m fairly fit and I was having difficulty BREATHING. JEEZ. I STRUGGLED to get up for work the next day. Let me tell you, The French really do not mess around with sport here. Either rock up and be prepared or stay at home.

Luckily death was not at my door this time and the session was OK. Although got reminded about the stupid French turf they used. It’s called stabilisé – it’s not grass, it’s not artificial, it’s crap. It’s like a mixture of crushed rock and sand that looks like tartan they use in Athletics and it HURTS when you fall over. And if you’re not used to playing on it (exhibit A) you fall a lot. Do the math.

Also watched the film legion, it was MEH. I liked the violence and action, but the film was really D rate at best.

On another note, now in a bit of dilemma; do I buy a ticket to go to America for xmas? Because I really do not want to stay in France by myself. Or do I get a job and start working off my rather large debts? Yes it was really a choice, I need that paper plz. Oh what, why am I considering going to America when Im already in financial difficulty? Well because it’s xmas and because I often do things I shouldn’t.

Friday

So nothing much today except I went to that meeting. You know the guy I met at the bus stop last week? He told me to come somewhere so he could discuss his plan on how he would make me rich....... Yes I did ask him at the bus stop, on the bus and on the phone, just telling him to explain to me then. But of course he refused (of course will be explained in a bit) and so I went. Why did I go....why not? I didn’t have anything else major to do at the time and I was curious. Anyway, it was a COMPLETE WASTE OF MY TIME. When I got there, I had to wait 25mins for a stupid presentation that he didn’t even take, it was by somebody ELSE. Then can you believe they spent 45 MINUTES telling you how amazing the scheme was, having many guest speakers come up and tell you how they all went from being broke to now driving ferrari’s blab la bla but they didn’t tell you HOW TO DO ANYTHING. Of course that was in PART TWO of the presentation (of course I didn’t stay), can you believe it?

After all his hype about this and that, it was just a stupid pyramid scheme. You know the whole you pay X to have a licence to sell Y and you get an unreasonable amount of Z for every item you sell. The company’s ACN and it’s about selling phone products. It all sounds very fishy to me, even though my friend in Canada says it’s the real deal, I still don’t buy it.

Moral of the story, if I was a cat, I would be dead......SEVERAL times over.

Went out that night to a new club in Bastille (as in never been before) called OPAA. Club wasn’t all that great. Maybe it was the dingy corner that put me off, or the weird music I’m not even sure how to label, not to mention the unnecessary amount of male bodies. Yet again, I’m always going on about how i like people that just get stuck in and give it a go and I’ve found that I may be a bit of a hyprocrite. When it comes to music and clubbing etc, there’s only so far I’m willing to go and OPAA was just a little too far.

Although was quite interesting to see Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) on the metro while i was going to my friends house. Yep that’s right, some dude was dressed up as Donatello and was just chilling in the metro at 9.30pm. Really, the things you see here????

Also got a random tidbit for you. On the way home at about 1am on the metro this lady asked me to move my leg so she could go past and instead of moving it, lifting it up and down like your average joe.....I decided to ‘snake’ it out of the way, like zig zag left and right like it was rooted to the floor. In all honesty, I have no idea why on earth I did that, I would blame it on alcohol, except I wasn’t drunk. It was also clear by the completely BEMUSED look on the woman’s face that she also had a no idea what the hell I was doing either. Alas, I think Paris is affecting me more than it should.

I’m still broke, no real news flash there.

Saturday

Woke up late and didn’t do much. You see the pattern here? Although I’ve got a severe case of I wanttospeakmorefrenchitis! I really would like to have a great group of French people or French speakers that I hang out with often and speak French a lot with, as all this English isn’t really helping me improve. The whole non student thing is proving to be a tad bit more inconvenient than I had hoped. Had an option to go out, well two invites and I turned them both down. First time I had turned down an invite to go out for no reason. For shame I know. Low point for me. – Sigh -

Sunday

Nothing much today either, chilled at home and planned my lessons for the week – so not completely wasted. Also watched a few episodes of the new avengers show. It is something I will be watching regularly. The end of justice league unlimited left a gaping hole that has been adequately replaced.

Also went to the basement gym – yes it is rather cool there’s a gym in the basement in the house. Although I think my shoulder injury from last year is starting to resurface which is not good.

Oh I did go out to a Scottish pub somewhere in Paris, met a few new faces, it was cool. Pub was called the Thistle.

Monday

Good day at work, rubbish hours 10-11 and then 3-4 so I just have to hang around a lot. But actually enjoyed it, talked to staff more, felt a lot more integrated, exchanged jokes and took the metro back together for a while .

Tuesday

Long day at work, 9-5, but classes were good so no real complaints here. Except I thought I would be a bit daring and try some Fromage Frais at lunch....I immediately regretted this decision. For some reason I forced myself to eat all of it when I really should have listened to my stomach’s constant growling!!! So I had a massive stomach ache for the next few hours and it really was problematic. I’ve always thought having a ‘stomach ache’ was just a fake excuse to get out of something in the past, but it really can make life difficult. So apologies to all those ‘stomach achers’ I’ve never taken seriously.

In fact, this fromage frais really did put me in a precarious situation and renewed my strong distaste for the complete lack of toilets in metro stations!!! I mean people spend all day on those things, the least they could do is put a toilet here or there in a few stops but NOOOOOO. On this one day, on way back home my body suddenly decided I needed the bathroom. I tried to man up and just ride it out of course and that lasted all of ...........ten seconds. I was out at the next stop and moving as fast as I can (which was relatively slowly for fear of premature release) and looking for the nearest cafe. Luckily I found one directly opposite the metro exit – ALLELUILA moment INDEED. Down to the toilet in a flash and down to business. Only to find out there was no LOCK on the door. How did I find this out......someone tried to open the door. And now I’m fighting to keep it closed and this guy MUST BE AN IDIOT!!! Of course if the door doesn’t feel like opening there is someone in it. No you don’t try, try, and try again, and..... then try some more after giving you a false sense of security. NO! You leave the guy alone and wait or go somewhere else you clown. Also, the logistics of ‘clean up’ while trying to keep the door closed, should not be underestimated. NOT AT ALL.

Wednesday

Uneventful

Still haven’t figured out what is wrong with my back so yeah you know. And for those who were confused earlier – I would be dead If I was a cat = curiosity killed the cat.

In a Bizzle