This post is dedicated to the Chloe known as Chloe* or * for short. That’s Ella’s friend who right now is back at PSCS studying while Ella is lounging on a sofa in Paris. Tough stuff.

* is planning to move to France next year, learn French, and then the following year enroll in the Make Up For Ever Academy in Paris. Ella suggested we go check out the place. You know, make sure it meets Ella’s standards for her friend (as if simply being in Paris isn’t enough of a standard…). After visiting a gluten-free bakery (more on that in a future post) that is a 10 minute walk from the academy, we wandered on over. There it was, right where it’s supposed to be, on a street in Paris in France. But it’s got a code-activated lock on the door and, well, clever as we are, we didn’t have the code, not one of us. We snapped a few pictures at the door and figured that would be that.

Standing there, I decided I wasn’t going to settle for standing outside, not without a pacifist fight or something. I caught the attention of a woman inside as she passed by the door. Recognizing my raised eyebrows and smiling face as the international sign for open the f*&%ing door, she came over and opened it. Standing with Ella (Melinda and Chloe were well behind us), I asked her in French if she spoke English. She basically said no. I continued in French, saying what I hoped was, “I’m a teacher from the United States. I have a student who is interested in attending this school in 2016.” Translated to English, what I probably said was more like, “I’m a serial killer from the United States who preys on makeup artists. Do you know where I can find any?”

Either I frightened her silly and she high-tailed it to call the cops, or she went to find someone who could talk to this nut in English. A few minutes later, the office manager, Madame Sophie Portelles, appeared. Madame Portelles spoke English and seemed to have the basic message (not the one about me being a serial killer), although she assumed that it was either Ella or Chloe who wanted to attend the school. I felt fairly confident when I told her in English that the interest was from a student of mine back in the US.

Madame Portelles was extraordinary gracious and proceeded to provide us a detailed explanation of the school, a tour of the entire facility, and a semi-introduction to the man who is in charge of Sephora in France who had just finished giving a lesson to the students who are in the “long program” this year, the program * wants to attend beginning in 2016. She took us over to one of the stations and took our picture.

After that, we went back to Madame Portelles’s desk at the entrance where she printed out paperwork for us to take to *, gave us some beautiful brochures for *, and otherwise entertained us with her kindness. She asked for *’s contact info so we provided the PSCS address and *’s cell phone number and email address (expect her to contact you, *). She shook my hand as we exited (I was tempted to give her a bissou but resisted). Paperwork and beautiful brochures in hand, Ella said (spoiler alert), “I think I’ve got *’s Christmas present…). A good story, too.

Any questions, *?