Day 5 – A place you want to live but have never visited #30daywritingchallenge
I have always been fascinated with France. It started when I was in fourth or fifth grade and started attending Saturday school at Grace Missionary Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio. Volunteers came each Saturday and taught classes on subjects that we might not have at school, like drama and art, and supplemented the fundamentals in math and reading. I decided to take French and I thought it was the most beautiful sound in the world and from that point on, I have been obsessed with France.
I studied French throughout high school and my first year of college, but as the demands of school and work increased, I had to cut some electives from my schedule and regrettably French was the first to go. I remember enough to be able to read and translate with the help of a dictionary, but I have lost most of my conversation skills.
I planned to spend my 40th birthday in Paris eating cheese and drinking coffee in a charming bistro, walking down the Champs-Elysees, visiting the Eiffel Tower, touring the Louvre but my life changed radically that year and I could not afford the trip. I kept saying next year but next years have come and gone six times since then and I still don’t have a plan to get to Paris. That’s probably a good thing, for I fear that once I get there, I won’t ever want to leave the city of lights. There’s something very compelling about a place that celebrates wine, chocolate, butter, beauty and art. There’s something provocative about a place that embraces passion and ennui equally.
I am not sure when I will get to have my April in Paris, but I know the plan will come together in due season. Until then, I remain excited about the possibilities.
Jessye's World 