...Dan

I've been in Strasbourg since sunday, and today I decided to take a quick trip into Germany while my friend is at work. I didn't want to go too far, so without much research, I chose Offenburg because it's a decent sized city. I've been here about half an hour and I'm bored. There's nothing here. I'm currently sat in a park to escape the sun for a bit. Maybe I should go and get a beer, but I don't speak a word of German...

What do you get out of pretending not to know Africa is a continent?

I bought one a month ago. It's nestled safely under our tree.

Finished Altered Carbon (really liked it) recently and now, despite not being a Marvel fan (I generally avoid the films because they're all the same) I've been convinced by a friend to give Jessica Jones a try. Watched 4 episodes so far and it's surprisingly good.

My sister spent years at uni getting her teaching qualifications, went and taught at an international school in Italy, and envied the TAs who had no qualifications, did a fraction of the work she did, and got paid almost as much as her. She only lasted 6 months at this school. It was horrible. She wanted to be a good teacher, wanted the kids to enjoy their lessons, but the headteacher forced her to just write stuff on the board and get the kids to copy. The other teachers told her...you get used to it, just accept the horrible reality of teaching and enjoy your weekend trips to Italian cities. Now she's looking into teaching in countries with better education systems like Norway.

Hmm yeah, I didn't really think about how time consuming lesson planning would be. Say you're doing 5 hours of teaching one day, how long would you usually spend on lesson plans? I have friends living in France who pay about 700 for rent, bills and food, so I think I'd get by fine working 20 hours a week on that wage. I wouldn't want teaching to become my entire life.

Most of them I've seen when looking for jobs in France say that they prefer people with a degree, but it's not necessarily essential. Also the pay is usually around €18 an hour...d'you think a new teacher would start on that or is that for experienced teachers?

I did the weekend, but my online course is 100 hours. I'm just about to start my first (of three) lesson planning assignments, I'm at unit 5 (of 11).

Anyone been to Alsace? I'm going for a couple of nights next week. Staying in Colmar and will visit Strasbourg.

Have you seen Dogtooth?

The bit where she's sat in front of the fridge eating raw chicken affected me more than the eating of human flesh.

Great film. If you haven't watched them already I recommend Lanthimos' other films Dogtooth and The Lobster.

I just read that as "Recht in Utrecht" and assumed it was a story about a stag do in Holland.

I don't think he was underappreciated. We're undoubtedly a much better team with him in the middle linking the midfield to the attack. I think Ozil plays better with Santi in the team because he finds him in the final third. Without him Ozil has to come deep to get it.

Links to N'Zonzi. Yes please.

Isn't this instead of Overmars? Not as well as.

Yeah, I noticed that too.

The Killing of a Sacred Deer Just as weird as Lanthimos' previous films, though probably not as good as Dogtooth or The Lobster. I'm not sure about my rating, I'll probably watch it again soon. For now I'll give it an 8/10. Brilliant performance by Barry Keoghan.

5/6

Bored at work. Worth a shot.

Wenger's last ditch attempt to get Sanchez to stay.

Yorgos Lanthimos' new film. I loved Dogtooth and The Lobster, I hope this is as good

I always stay in Montmartre. It's a beautiful area. I usually get this bus/metro pass: https://booking.parisinfo.com/il4-offer_i149-paris-visite-pass-pass-transport.aspx Try to fit in a trip to Versailles, it's spectacular. Go to the catacombs if that interests you. Get ice cream from the man on Pont Alexandre III. Have a picnic at the Jardin des Tuileries. Relax at the Jardin du Luxembourg (I agree with Danny, it's my favourite). Sit by the Seine at night and drink wine. You may not like classical music but I'd highly recommend going to see a concert at Sainte-Chappelle, the stained glass is beautiful. There's so much to do. I've been four or five times, and I don't think I'll ever get bored of it.

This better come in.