En Francais, S'il vous plait

I'm hitting the middle point of my Paris trip, and I've made a renewed commitment to learn French. Although, I've definitely improved, I only spend a couple hours a week learning the language, which is not nearly enough. Furthermore, I've surrounded myself with English speakers.

So, I am making an effort to hang out with more French speakers. First, I went for a drink with a Parisien from Internations. I was slightly tired so my French was not up to par, and we ended up speaking en anglais most of the time. When English is an option, it's so easy to be lazy with my French.

However, last night I went for a drink with one of our bartender friends, Ali, and laziness was not an option. I was unaware going into the drink that my new friend's grasp on the English language was akin to my grasp on Italian. A few words here and there, the ability to order a drink in a bar, etc. I had no choice but to parle en Francais the ENTIRE time. And I did. And I liked it.

Now, I know I made plenty of mistakes, and there were some things I tried to explain and failed, but nevertheless, I had an entire 1.5 hour conversation in French. I am giving myself a round of applause and a trés bien right now!