I had heard rumors about the meanest teacher in school. Mme. Ze gave too much homework and yelled a lot. The worst things about this English teacher were her glare and how she would make comments in French that we couldn’t understand. You might think I would have listened to the people who told me not to take her class, but I did it anyway. It was the best decision I ever made.

Now, don’t assume her class wasn’t the hardest ever, or that I thought it was great that she immediately gave us a huge project that was due in two weeks. Halfway through the school year I began to envy my friends in the easier class. But Mme. Ze always brightened my day. Her projects ended up being fun. She loved our class and joked around with us all the time.

I really began to know that I loved Mme. Ze when I traveled with her to Europe. She seemed human and real to me. She was worried when we were late for dinner or did not answer right away when she took roll. She took us to so many great places, including the best ice cream parlor in Paris. When one of my friends ran out of money, Mme. Ze paid for her ice cream, which shocked us.

Her persuasive skills often took over and I could not say no to her. During the trip, we went to a restaurant for dinner where they served escargot. I did not leap at the chance to try it, but Mme. Ze did. I sat next to her and she kept commenting how delicious they were. I looked at her like she was crazy. She pointed to the cooked snails and said, “Abby, you should try one. They are ­really good.” Right away I said “NO!” But do you know what happened next? My crazy, snail-eating English teacher put a snail on a piece of bread and put it in my hand. And I ate it. Surprisingly, it was fantastic! I also traveled to Japan with her on an exchange trip.

So, I thank you, Mme. Ze, for opening my eyes to new things and making me a harder worker.