My joyous table for four would be held one glorious evening at one of the best restaurants in Paris: La Jacobine. Accompanied by Audrey Seibold, Jolie Briseno, and Zahra Kizaraly, I would enjoy the finest French cuisine. Audrey, Jolie, Zahra, and I would be on Day 1 of our France trip that we talked about almost every single day of our junior year in French 3. Thanks to Agnieszka Waclawek, our French teacher, we would successfully read and tell the waiter what we wanted for dinner (“We” as in everyone but me because my French pronunciation skills were never superb). As we wait for our meal, we would catch up about everything in each other’s lives that we missed because we have not sat together since June 2024. Giggling and gasping, we would have the best conversation of our week long trip. As our meals arrived, we would continue chatting until our plates were clean. At the end of our meal, the tone would slightly shift. “Guys, I miss French 3 sometimes,” I would say out loud. Everyone would nod and agree. Although the class was stressful, the friends I made along the way made it 10 times better. However, my expression would soon change. Smiling, I’d say, “I don’t feel like getting too sappy on our first night, who wants to get gelato?”
