Photo courtesy of Abby Livingston

In her favorite pair of jeans, and a babydoll sweater from Hollister, senior Abby Livingston and her friends huddled together. It was chilly, and around 11:00 pm. They waited as French teacher William Espeset began the countdown.

10…9…8…

Everyone whipped out their phones ready to record. Livingston’s was dead. Two days ago they were in Kansas. And after an eight-hour flight, which she spent reading “Pride and Prejudice,” listening to Gracie Abrams and trying to sleep, they were finally in Paris. 

Paris. The City of Love. Known for its fashion, culture, diplomacy and pickpocketers. 

To Livingston, this was still a dream. 

3…2…1…

The Eiffel Tower adorned itself with 20,000 flashing lights, a beacon of pure gold against the dull sky. 

“I can’t believe I’m here,” Livingston remembers thinking. 

Nothing would compare to that moment. 

Students enrolled in French were able to take a trip to France this summer, chaperoned by Espeset. This opportunity strikes every two years, and typically around five to 20 students end up attending. Seven students and one parent went for nine days touring Paris, Normandy, Amboise, Loire Valley, and more. 

But Livingston had been saving up long before then. She started working at a local bakery called Kate’s Soiree to pay for the trip. With the $10 an hour, plus tips she made baking brownies and wiping down heart-shaped tables, Livingston started putting away over $300 each month. She was determined to reach that $4,000 goal. 

Once Livingston had enough money set aside and her parents were on board, not going was out of the question.

In Paris, she was living her dream come true. 

“It was exactly what I expected,” Livingston said. “People are actually nicer than they’re perceived as in movies and stuff. It also wasn’t as clean, similar to New York City. There were moments that were very picturesque, then we turned around, and two Parisians are screaming at each other.”

They saw historic neighborhoods, cafes, flower markets and chateaus. Their tour guide even let them stray off the itinerary and hike through quicksand around Mont Saint Michel. Livingston vividly remembers visiting D-Day memorials, and a specific beach, Pointe Du Hoc, where soldiers had to scale up the side of a cliff. There were huge craters now overgrown with clover and tall grasses. 

“It’s crazy how a beautiful place could have such horrible history,” Livingston said.

The city of Saint-Malo was what she looked forward to most. Walking along city walls, seeing the ocean, connecting real moments with scenes from a novel Livingston read for sophomore English and loved, “All The Light We Cannot See.”

She was thrilled to document everything and share it with her mom, Tracy Livingston, who had worked as an au pair in Switzerland and Paris. 

“I’ve spoken French in our home since she was itty-bitty,” Tracy said. “We’ve talked about her traveling to Europe/France for years.”

Livingston loved chatting with locals and giving her best shot at ordering in restaurants. She claimed the waiters did laugh, but were always eager to help.  

“I was super proud of how willing my students were to speak French right away,” Espeset said. “It can be intimidating but they were all brave and got a lot of compliments from locals.”

On the final day, they toured Chateau de Chambord and drove back to Paris. They had dinner, ended with a cruise down La Seine River and got to see a lot of famous sights one last time.

Livingston will miss the gooey dessert crepes.

She will miss the $630 spent on food and souvenirs. 

She will miss the art and history on every streetcorner. 

Most of all she will miss the people.

“It’s weird that I spent a whole nine days in France doing exactly what I’ve always wanted to,” Livingston said. 

At home in Kansas, Livingston airplayed all her 947 photos on the living room TV while mom and Willow, the family tabby cat, watched. 

“Being able to practice speaking a foreign language in that environment is different from 

anything else I’ve experienced before,” Livingston said. “It’s always been an idea in the back of my head to become fluent in French, but now that’s something I should really do.”