This week, I had the good fortune of finding out some of the most exciting news thus far in my life — I’m studying in France during next school year.
I’ve anticipated this study abroad trip since I started at IU, and finally receiving confirmation for it was a huge weight lifted off my chest.
I eagerly opened all handbooks and supplements sent along with the acceptance letter and stumbled upon a list of books the program had put together as recommended reading prior to going on the trip.
I have read one of the books on the list, Peter Mayle’s “A Year In Provence,” and, in my excitement, planned on checking out the rest as soon as I can.
This list prompted a thought — how can literature about a city or country or anywhere contribute to the travel experience?
I thoroughly enjoyed “A Year in Provence,” and it only made me more excited to spend nearly a year of my life in the same region. But at the same time, it also made me wary of letting the author’s experiences and ideas about France taint, or improve, my own.
Though I believe books can be invaluable sources of information, one can only read so much about somewhere from the safety of their own apartment before they realize the real thing is out there waiting to be discovered.
So I’m faced with a dilemma: do I read the books on this list before going to Provence, or do I wait and let the place do the talking?
On the one hand, reading these books could give a greater insight into the culture of the south of France, history of the region and a sense of who the people are.
These are all good things and topics I love learning about, but I think it takes on a greater sensitivity when in six short months I’ll be living in the place I’m learning about, not just admiring from afar.
I can’t help but be a little afraid of arriving in Aix-en-Provence with a whole lot of baggage that would prevent me from seeing the place with new eyes.
An easy response to this dilemma would be to not let someone else’s opinions and experiences influence mine so easily.
Unfortunately, I’ve found that isn’t so easy for me, with my love of books and often respect for their authors.
I have to trust, at least a little bit, someone who wrote an amazing novel or documented so excellently a year of his or her life.
They’re the experts on one of my favorite pastimes.
I think my resolution for the next few months before my departure is to both keep an open mind about my new home and take in as much information I can about it from secondary sources.
I know there’s so much to learn from literature that I would be a fool to pass it up, but I should also leave room for my own story.
