A First Time for Everything

After an 18-hour flight filled with boring movies and cigarette smoke, Dan and the others in the tour group arrive at their first destination: Paris, France. At the arrival gate, Dan gets flustered because the attendant speaks only in French, and he accidentally grabs the wrong bag. It belongs to a girl named Amy, who is on the same tour. She’s friendly and corrects Dan when he mispronounces her last name. Several other girls mock him as they walk by. A man named Hank introduces himself as the tour guide for the large group of students (who are from multiple schools). Everyone is tired from the flight, but the teacher announces that they’ll be going sightseeing right away.

Dan and his new friends Braden and Darryl drive past the Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame Cathedral, Palace of Versailles, and Eiffel Tower, and the memoir features large illustrations of each one, drawn in architectural detail. At the Eiffel Tower, Dan’s camera doesn’t work, so he draws it instead and smiles down at his sketch. When the group goes to breakfast, Dan eats all the breadsticks on the table, thinking they’re free. He’s shocked at his bill, and the teacher,