Hate me if you must, but I travel to Paris once or twice a year for work and for pleasure every so often, when I can swing it. The shopping, the light, the food, museums, the architecture, blah blah blah, everyone likes Paris, but for me, there is one unpleasant facet to every trip- not knowing French. Yes, I took five years in school, yes, I have been visiting for years, but yes, I cringe and grimace my way through every interaction. Having struggled through my junior high and high school French classes (once my teacher asked jokingly in French if I was on drugs and I promptly answered “Oui!”) I have never considered myself to have an aptitude for languages, but the awkward entitlement of repeatedly visiting a country without more than “merci” haunted every trip. So, when my friend Emily (does everyone have that friend who always has the freshest ideas leaving you wondering both, why didn’t I think of that? and why don’t we start a company together?) told me how much she was loving the Pimsleur Method, I hoarded my audible credits, purchased French Level 1 (30 lessons!) and got started.