The Wall Street Institute Paris

The worst interview I ever had happened some 18 years ago while in Madrid when I went for a job at the Wall Street Institute. I'd spoken to arrange the interview by phone and had talked to someone with a deep husky voice who explained a few things about the role to me.

When I arrived at the school I was led into a room and was confronted by a sizeable black American woman. After the usual pleasenteries I said that I had spoken to her colleague over the phone and he had told me x, y and z.
She stared at me for a moment and then said in a quite aggravated manner that 'it was me you spoke to'. I got out of there as quick as I could.

The Wall Street Institute is like the Starbucks of language schools. You'll find many in Paris and their advertising is everywhere notably in the Metro where the ad claims (usually showing a photo of a businessman punching the air in delight) that their students have a '97% success rate'. That is, on their own internal test. Wasn't it Disraeli who said that "There are lies, damn lies and statistics"

One of the students where I teach English in Paris used to go to the Wall Street Institute. He hated it. Basically he spent most of the time in front of a computer doing exercises and once in a while a teacher would come by to check things. He paid a lot of money but got nowhere so he came to us.

If I could just convince a few more of the Wall Street Institute's clients in Paris to come to my classes instead (perhaps 3%) then I might start to make a decent living here.

Post script: After posting the above I came across this interesting website about the Wall Street Institute in Paris and elsewhere TEFL blacklist - Wall Street Institute

Post post script: I recorded this skit called not the Wall Street Institute Paris

In Trouble With The French Police

Parapluie Paris
Originally uploaded by malias.

Back in Paris I had this bright idea to go down to La defense to hand out leaflets promoting the language courses that I run in the hope of attracting some lucrative business contract.

La Defense is the business district of Paris and early September is the time of the rentrée when Parisians return bronzed and refreshed from their summer vacation. It's also the begining of the academic year so it's the best time to get work.

I went down with a friend early on Friday morning to catch the salarymen as they arrived for work.

We started to hand out leaflets but withing two minutes the police arrived threatening us with a 65 Euro fine each. We were outside on the street so I couldn't see what law we were breaking but apparently the concourse at La Defense is privately owned and you need a licence to distribute publicity (but If it is privately owned then why were the police enforcing these rules?).

Someone once told me that Paris is a very 'keep of the grass' city. I now know what she meant whatever you do it seems that you are transgressing one rule or another.

You have been warned.

The New Piccadilly Closing Down

New Piccadilly
Originally uploaded by malias.

The old style English cafes that you once found all over London are a dying breed. One of the few remaining was The New Piccadilly in Denham Street.

This interior has remained virtually unchanged sinced the 1950s even the menu is the same, offering hearty Anglo-Italian food at reasnable prices. To be honest I never thought the food was particularly good however, I was still sad to find out that it is closing its doors for the last time on September 23rd 2007.

Happilly there are a few of these old style cafes left in London. So if you're in London and you would like to try something different to the bland franchised chaines that you find everywhere then try one from this selection. Plonk yourself down at a formica table and enjoy your meal (and a cuppa).

Just don't expect anything fancy.

Jellied Eeels

Jellied Eeels
Originally uploaded by malias.

Someone asked me in Paris recently if there was any food specific to London. I must admit I struggled to answer. Only two things came to mind. pie and mash and that East End delicacy jellied eels.

I'm in London at the moment and on Sunday while walking around the East End on the way to Spitafield Market I stumbled across Tubby Isaacs' stall in Aldgate.

I was with the ever curious Eduardo from Argentina I recommended that if he wanted a geniune taste of London he should try the eels.

They said that when David Beckham went to play for Real Madrid the only thing he really missed from home were the jellied eels.

To me they looked disgusting so much so that I couldn't even bring myself to try them. Eduardo had a go. However, what he thought of them is hardly printable.

The 'Polish' Plumber

Eat Fish
Originally uploaded by malias.

After the EU was expanded in 2004 Ireland the UK and Sweden were the only EU countries to allow unrestricted access to the labour market for citizens of the new entrants (Poland, The Baltic states, Hungary etc).

Meanwhile France and a number of other countries maintained its work permit system largely because of the (mainly groundless) fear that a large influx of immigrants would push up unemployment.

A further factor in the restricting of access to the job market was undoubtebly to maintain the priveleged position of certain trades who feared that competition from abroad would bring down the prices they could charge.

Well I have to tell you that the sooner the archetypal Polish plumber moves west the better.

In an earlier entry I mentioned that I had plumbing problems in my Paris apartment. I needed an estimate for some laying of some new pipes. So I called a few plumbers. Some of the plumbers never returned my calls finally I got a French plumber to come round. He was late (several days late in fact) , rude, sent the estimate to the wrong address and got my name completely wrong. Worst of all he wanted 1012 Euros for what he said was a day or two days' work.

1012 Euros is a lot of money, I didn't know what to do. Finally an English friend recommended a Romanian plumber he had used. I called him, he came on time, he did the work in 4 hours and charged me 170 Euros including parts. Pretty reasonable I thought.

Call me old fashioned but a bit of competition can be a good thing.

Antonio Puerta Dies

Boys will be boys
Originally uploaded by malias.

Sometimes something happens to make you question your very existence.

Yesterday Spain and Sevilla midfielder Antonio Puerta died after collapsing during a Spanish league match on Saturday. He was just 22 at the peak of fitness and with a wife expecting their first child.

I reflected that if it could happen to Antonio Puerta then it could happen to anyone. It's best to remember that life is fragile and it could end at any time.

It's at moments like these when it's good to take a pause from our hectic schedules, forget our troubles and go out and just enjoy the day.

With this in mind I tried to do that very thing this morning. I switched of my mobile phone (important) and went for a walk in one of my favourite parts of Paris around the 5th Arrondissement in the streets connecting the Pantheon. Then I went to a smart cafe, drank a glass of Bordeaux and read my book.

Doesn't sound much but I enjoyed it.

Cheers Antonio!

How To Ride A Velib

I finally succumbed to all the hype and picked up my first Velib the other day in Paris. I was trying to get from Bercy Village to Bastille and the friend I was with assured me that it would be much quicker than taking the Metro. As we wizzed through the streets of the 12th arrondissement I thought it was great, fast and efficient.

We zoomed past Gare de Lyon and arrived in Bastille in no time at all. Then we hit a snag. You have to deposit your Velib at a Velib station and furthermore if you're on the Velib for more than half an hour you have to pay. We rolled up and down the street looking for the parking spot finally we found one but it was full. We carried on riding but couldn't find another one eventually after about 20 minutes we managed to park our bikes.

So in the end due to parking problems it took far longer than the Paris Metro and I had to pay a fee for passing the half our mark (admittedly only 1 Euro) and I got wet because it was raining.

On the plus side it was fun and I didn't have to take the smelly Metro which, believe me, is a definite plus.

Fancy Food

BREAKFAST
Originally uploaded by malias.

At a Paris bakey recently a friend of mine was tempted to try the interesting sounding feuillete saucisse when I asked him what it was like he said that it was really noting but a sausage roll with a French name.

It's funny how English speakers like their food to have a foreign name. It somehow makes it sound more exotic and exciting. So a posh London restaurant will serve creme anglaise but never custard. At lunchtime we rush out to buy panini rather than toasted sandwiches. At the cafe we speak faux Italian when ordering an espresso, macchiato or a caffe latte to give ourselves a little continental sophistication.

Once at a Spanish restaurant in London I saw written in large letters on a blackboard situated in front of a full size cardboard cutout of a flamenco dancer that the special of the day was Huevos fritos con patatas fritas Olé Sounds delicous until I thought, hold on, doesn't that mean egg and chips?

Professeur d'anglais Paris

Telephone Box Shaftesbury Avenue
Originally uploaded by malias.

There are two rules that I apply when teaching English in Paris. 1. The class must be interesting. 2. The students must learn something. If you apply this code to your classes then I guarantee you that most of the students will return.

I have spent a lot of time going to French classes after arriving in Paris what I found was that most of the classes I went to were unbelivably bad and mind numbingly boring.

I took lessons because I wanted to learn how to speak French but what I found was that in many cases the teacher came in and gave exercise after exercise for 2 hours or however long the class was with no opportunity to have a conversation. It was so frustrating, the only time I ever got to speak French was with the students before or after the class. There were a few good teachers who took a more imaginative approach but most of the time it was like this.

So when I started giving English classes in Paris (Professeur d'anglais Paris) I made it my mission to let the students speak. I'll correct and explain grammar in the context of the conversation but I try to give as much emphasis as possible on free expression. It seems to be working well.

My ideas may not be revolutionary but I do hope they will be adopted more widely.

Football Season Begins

Football
Originally uploaded by malias.

French Philosopher and avid football fan Jaques Derrida once said that "Beyond the touchline there is nothing".

The existenial writer and thinker Albert Camus (and incidentally, goalkeeper for Algeria) opined that "All that I know most surely about morality and obligations I owe to football".

J.B. Priestley writing in the 1930s claimed that "For a shilling United offered you conflict and art."

It seems that great men have been inspired and entertained by soccer.

On Saturday the new season begins in England and as the Premier League is a world game now It's just as easy to follow it here in Paris. I'll be popping down to the pub on Sunday to catch a match.

If you want to own part of a football team you might want to try this site. http://www.myfootballclub.co.uk/

However, there is one question all the most brilliant minds in the world can't answer; Why is my team (Leeds United) so rubbish?

Paris Free Museum Day

Watching the People watching the Pictures
Originally uploaded by malias.

Every regular visitor to Paris knows that all the national museums are free on the first Sunday of each month. So this includes all the major galleries such as Musee d' Orsay, the Orangerie, Musee Picasso and the Louvre amongst others.

Unfortunately, this means that that the places get clogged up with art deprived tourists and frugal locals. I know that it would be so much easier just to pay the 7 or 10 Euros entry fee and enjoy a more pleasent, stress free visit but sometimes you just get caught up in the momentum. So you ended up straining your neck and standing on tiptoes to peer over a crowd on the off-chance of getting a glimpse of the arse of one of Rodin's statues.

However there is a principle at stake too. In London all the major museums are free. It is believed that the great works of art should accessible to everybody rich and poor and not jut the culture loving middle classes.

Furthermore, much of the work in the Louvre was. shall we say, acquired under dubious circumstances. It seems odd that a Greek or an Egyptian should have to pay to gain acces to view works of antiquity taken from their own countries.

Sarkozy has stated that he would like to make the national museums free in France. I hope he does this before I do myself an injury.

Trying to be interesting

"I TOLD YOU NO PHOTOS!!"
Originally uploaded by malias.

I'm not much of a writer but I do like to put pen to paper (or is it fingers to keyboard) whenever I have a free moment.

I've always had an interest in history and with this in mind I've added a new section the website I'm involved in. I was looking for a theme and in I decided on two things. Firstly, there must be a connection (no matter how vague) to Paris, France or the French language (as it's a Paris based website) and secondly it must be interesting.

So far I've compiled 5 tales plus one page about franglais.

So if you want to see the first film ever made and learn about its filmaker, Louis Le Prince and how he mysteriously disappeared.

Or, how the British poisoned Napoleon

Or how it was the English who invented Champagne

Or how a Bohemian con man sold the Eiffel tower.

Or find out about the history of absinthe and how it got banned around the world

Then follow this link. Interesting, very interesting