Assault

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  Paris, Île-de-France, France
Thursday, July 24, 2008

I'm glad I'm moving on from Paris on Friday - today I was assaulted, in broad daylight by some crazy homeless person who lives on my street. I was so scared, she grabbed me and wouldn't let go, and I pulled away and she ran after me looking like a psycho with bulging eyes, I thought she was going to stab me, but she punched me instead. Lucky she had no weapons. I had no idea what she was screaming at me, even after I told her I couldn't speak french (Je ne parle pas francais! Je ne comprends pas!) and she started (thinking she was) speaking English, but it was really jibberish about her not having anything or something. It was quite upsetting, and no one bothered to stop and see if I was alright or help me or whatever, in a completely crowded street in mid afternoon.

On a brighter note, I found a 30cm wide wheel/slab(?) of brie in a supermarket today. It was the equivalent of FOUR DOLLARS. I wanted it so badly, but I only have one full day left in Paris and I can't take it on the plane. That would just be silly. It was weird, because it was called "Petit Brie" which means small brie.

I also went out tonight with two very nice American girls that I met at a party here. Actually all the Americans I've met here have been reallllly nice. Anyway, we went to a Thai restaurant to satisfy my cravings for Newtown thai. Of course, I was disappointed. It really wasn't great. I knew I should have got the Panang Frog Legs instead of the Panang Duck, I was being terribly boring. We went to a club afterwards which had a Ladies Night - free champagne, woohoo! I wish they still had that in Sydney. It was a really cool club - spacious, lounges everywhere, good music and carvings in the walls. So the day kind of balanced itself out.

I finished my course in Paris and received an official European grade and Certificate. I am "B1 Utilisateur indépendant" according to the CECR scale (Cadre Européen Commun de Référence pour l'apprentissage et l'enseignement des langues). The possible grades are: A1 A2 B1 B2 B3 C1 C2. A1 is for beginners, and C2 is fluent. A2 is for people who have done 6 years of French in highschool. I am nearly halfway to fluency, not bad for under a year. I don't really feel that close to fluency though! I am aiming for B2 by the end of my course in Nice.

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