A bit of a shorter post, perhaps.

So, I thought I would update everyone on what I have been doing in the past week or so, which really hasn't been much, so hopefully this will be a bit of a shorter post, since many of you are asking for me to trim the fat and not tell you every minute detail of my life over here. Since I last wrote, I really haven't done much. Just keeping my nose to the grindstone for the most part, going to school and doing homework and preparing lessons, etc. I would like to say that I had two chances this week to teach real-life English language learners (Depline and Clautilde) and I am really enjoying the real-life teaching experience I am getting from my class. Of course, I have some things to work on concerning my lessons, but these things are all very attainable. Although I do have teaching experience, it is not experience with teaching people who are learning English, so my lesson execution and planning have had to be altered a bit, but like I said, I am really enjoying it. It's a very rewarding experience, because I can see how much these people are benefiting from my instruction while I am giving it. I will continue to improve as time goes on, but I definitely do think that having some teaching experience already has made this process easier than if I were just starting out as a teacher. For example, I already know how to write good lessons, etc. Anyways.

I have learned how to better budget my money as well, and have done much better this week to not spend money as recklessly as I had been the first week over here. Again, it's all a learning process for me, but I think I've got it now. So maybe you'd all like to know what I have been up to socially in the last week, so you can live vicariously through me. Last Saturday night I went to this bar/club on a boat called Batofar, which was fun, but we (my classmates and I) didn't go in the club part of it because it was something like 10 Euro for some guy I've never heard of, so we just had a couple of drinks on the upper level and left after that part shut down at midnight. Then, to save money, we went to the Quick and got a couple of beers, which are WAY cheaper there than at a bar or club. I think it's hilarious that you can buy beer at fast food places over here, as long as you order some food and only get two at a time (I just got some fries). Then we went to the Irish place by my apartment for about an hour, but on Saturdays it's apparently much different than during the week, and I didn't really like it, so we left after maybe 30 minutes.

Sunday I spent all day reading and catching up on homework, and Monday began my week at school again. Mondays and Wednesdays are from 2pm to 8pm, Tuesdays and Thursdays are from 9am-8pm (killer), and Fridays are 10am-1pm. Monday I just slept in, but Wednesday I went to the post office and the grocery store and to a place I had heard had job listings, but all they had were babysitting jobs and extremely part time teaching things, so I didn't write any numbers down. I did pick up a sort of "Job News" website, though, so that was good. I honestly think most if not all of my job searching is going to be done online, which is super convenient for me, as long as my internet is working. One of the girls in my class went on an interview this week, and she said they needed another English teacher, so I was going to write them a little e-mail when I am done with this.

More social stuff and then I promise I will end this one. Last night, Angus and I went to Paris Social Club to see a very well-known veteran French DJ named Laurent Garnier, and he did NOT disappoint. After pre-gaming it at my place for about 3 hours to save money (we each got a six pack of 1664 and then an additional pint bottle of beer for less than one drink at Paris Social Club), we went out, showing up around 1am. The club was very cool...a little high brow, but all in all, not bad. The people seemed to realize what a gem they have in this DJ, and everyone seemed to be having a good time. It was also cool to talk to some more French people, all of whom seemed to be extremely interested in interacting with native English speakers. I even gave one guy my e-mail address because I told him I used to be a DJ, and he said he had DJ equipment and that we should hang out sometime and mix some records...he also wanted to teach me Tractor (sp), which is a kind of new technology when it comes to the art of DJing, which I am fully down with.

Well, Laurent Garnier absolutely KILLED it, playing everything from Beastie boy remixes to tech-house, techno, Drum and Bass, Hip Hop, and at the end, Daft Punk, which incited the crowd into a sort of frenzy. It was at this point that we left, however, at around 4am, because Angus took the reins and realized that if we didn't leave then, I would have wanted to stay until the club closed, at 5am. But I will definitely be going to see this DJ again, as often as I can afford to, because I had a really good time...possibly top 10 all time club/party experiences, no exaggeration. I also learned that Angus is a loyal friend, because we had an altercation with a French guy who apparently told Angus that my hat made me look gay, and Angus was ready to rearrange this guy's face on my behalf. At the time, I played the role of diffuser, but that was largely because I didn't realize the guy had insulted me. If I had, I would have been right there with Angus, ready to do some damage. But that's about it for last night...I got maybe 3 hours of sleep last night, but was miraculously only a little bit late to class today, which my teacher excused. She's really very nice. Then after class today, Angus, Helen and I went to this Belgian burger place (not Quick) and ate lunch in Luxembourg gardens before we went our separate ways to nap and what have you.

Tomorrow, I am going to a big fireworks display just outside of Paris that I found a deal for on Living Social (a web site kind of like Groupon that I joined when I arrived in Paris) to reduce the price of the cheapest seat from about $40 to about $18, and I am really excited about that. I know you may say it's weird to pay for fireworks, but it's a two-hour long show, and it seems like it will be the best fireworks display I have ever seen. Check out the videos at www.le-grand-feu.com and tell me you wouldn't pay $18 for two hours of that. I think Helen and Angus may come with, and they want to maybe pre-game it at my place beforehand, which is cool with me, but I don't know how much I am going to feel like drinking tomorrow after the night I had last night. Anyways, that's all for now. I hope you are all doing well, and if you want to talk to me, I know I've given out my e-mails and maybe even my Instant Messenger IDs on here. Or you could Skype me. My user name is the same as this blog, Hydeingoutinparis. Also, I am sorry that even when I try to write a short post, it somehow winds up as 6 or 7 paragraphs. Oh well. It is still shorter than previous posts, so I hope your attention spans can hold for long enough to read it. A bientot! Grosses bises a tous! (Big love and kisses to all)

ps...this didn't fit anywhere else, so I thought I would add it at the end...I love the differences in French food, even like crappy junk food. Their candy is so much better than almost everything we have in America (except maybe Twix and Reese's), and they have flavors of chips that I would never have thought possible. My current favorite is "Cheeseburger" (yes, I said cheeseburger) potato chips, though I still have yet to try the rotisserie chicken flavored ones. And they're not a foreign brand, they're Lay's! They need to get on bringing those to the states...they are so good. They taste a lot like pickle chips, but they are so much better. And apparently they have a "Mustard and pickles" flavor as well, but those are a bit harder to find, at least in Paris, anyways.