Why Books are the Best Travel Souvenir
For the past 10 years, I have been teaching many amazing and bright young minds all over the world. Therefore, I am always looking for ways to encourage a love of reading and learning. That is why books are the best travel souvenir you can possibly bring home after one of your travel adventures!
I used to think the sign of a good vacation is a tan or a selfie in front of a historical monument. I would always grab a shot glass or refrigerator magnet. The trinkets never take up much space in your suitcase. My photos that are posted online were a way to receive positive affirmation. All that changed when my daughter was born.
The magnets can also remind you of your glory days every time you go to get a beverage. But I dreamed of the day when my souvenirs could be so much more than refrigerator magnets that I inevitably lost or broke before the end of the trip.
Life as an International Teacher
For my first overseas teaching assignment, I was in Central Asia in a country called Turkmenistan in 2008. Every time I traveled on our school holidays, 90% of my flights took me through Istanbul, Turkey. I would religiously go to in the Turkish Air lounge. Let’s be honest, Burger King and Starbucks too… all of you expats can relate.
On my way, I would always stop in the D&R bookstore to get to ANY reading material I could find in English. In a country like Turkmenistan, ANYTHING in my mother tongue was pure gold. I would get enough reading for my trip. However, I would always stock up on duty-free magazines and books on my return flight. Then I could pass them out like candy at Christmastime to all the other expats.
My suitcase was NEVER too full for a book.
Until I got pregnant with my daughter in 2010, I had never seriously thought about my souvenir choices. The week before I left my home of 2 years in Turkmenistan, I found out I was 3 months pregnant. I would be moving to Cairo, Egypt in the fall for my next teaching post, and needless to say, my world had shifted.
I was headed back home to San Diego, California for the summer. On my way home, I took a two-week holiday in Turkey, Italy, and Morocco. As I meandered through the streets of Rome, I was relishing in my strawberry gelato. (Yes, I remember those tiny details… again, TURKMENISTAN for two years.) I walked into a bookstore that had the cutest version of “The Three Little Pigs”, “Tre Porcellini”.
It was small, light, and I felt proud of my wonderful and worldly choice of a souvenir for my unborn child. In Fez, I once again found myself in a wonderful little book shop in the maze of the city Medina.
This time I found a book about a pig. Living in a Muslim country, I had gone without a lot of pork the last couple years. It was called “Ti-cochon beut jouer”. Little did I know that 5 years later, I would be living in West Africa. I had no more excuses for my accent when I was reading that story to my now 4- year old.
The Movement of Book Souvenirs Spread
After that particular trip, I went home with my modest collection of books, and the story really began. I talked about my new-found books with a few of my family members. This prompted them to show me a few books they had collected from other countries.
It was absolutely lovely to bond over international experiences with my grandparents. We reminisced about our travels in a new and exciting way. Even though we weren’t able to actually read most of the texts, it was the beginning of something special.
Book Fever
Before I moved to Egypt, I met up with my husband in Istanbul. I bought a FIFA basketball World Championship book from the tournament we attended. When I arrived at my new school in Cairo, I talked to a few friends about my love for books from all the places I traveled. They too got caught in the enthusiasm.
On our first holiday break in October, colleagues brought me back book souvenirs in Thai, Arabic, French, and German. My new favorite was my book about seals in Arabic from Abu Dhabi.
Books were My Calm in the Storm
The months slipped away, and all too quickly for a scared rookie mama, my daughter was born in January 2011. The Egyptian Revolution occurred January 21st when she was just 3 weeks old. So the first books that we read to her had the background noise of gunfire. The tanks drove by and molotov cocktails were exploding, meanwhile, I tried to drown out the noise with books.
I read the books in English from my library first. Then I would pour over the characters from all over the world. I would use imaginary tales of what they were saying in all the amazing languages. This strategy did wonders for tuning out some of the overwhelming chaos outside my apartment window.
Read more about my escape from the Egyptian Revolution in 2011.
Books as Therapy
I was eventually evacuated with my daughter from Cairo in February. I returned to San Diego while I waited for my husband to finish his deployment. This was again a divine appointment. I met up with the ever-inspiring and book-revolutionary friend.
She challenged my whole mindset towards my reading goals. She further inspired me to keep going on my journey to help my daughter fall in love with language through a good book. In turn, reading books helped me overcome trauma.
Why Books are the Best Travel Souvenir
Fast forward the next four years of living in Ukraine, Latvia, and Mauritania with many gypsy adventures in between. It is a non-negotiable stop to find new books as I walk through an old town, or into cobblestone mom and pop shops. In my conversations with other travelers, I try to inspire them to do the same.
I have so many more wonderful books in my daughter’s collection thanks to friends and family who always find joy in getting her a book from their travels.
I am brought to tears when I open up a book from someone who finds this unique souvenir important enough to spend a few minutes shopping for my own little global citizen.
We laugh and butcher how to pronounce the beloved Russian character “Cheburashka”. The Polish adventures of “TinTin”, the little Spanish bird in “Eres mi Mama” sound… well interesting. Our go-to animal voice exaggeration character is always the wolf in the German Little Red Riding Hood “Rotkappchen”. Thanks to living overseas as well as many awesome free online language learning resources, our language skills to read more of our book souvenirs is improving daily!
I am homesick more often than I care to admit. However, I feel infinitely better knowing I can treasure watching my daughter travel to all of these wonderful memories through her books.
Get a FREE eBook Today
This FREE ebook is filled with expert strategies guaranteed to help your child learn HOW to read without using a curriculum. I use diverse and multicultural books and resources to teach kids to read the world and become global citizens as well as successful readers!
Subscribe here for your FREE eBook The Importance of Reading Aloud: A Parent's Guide.
06/14/2017 @ 4:59 am
What an awesome idea, and what an enriched life you must lead! What do you teach in each of the countries you reside? And how did you find yourself doing that?! SO COOL!
06/14/2017 @ 5:06 am
Hi Amanda! I have taught all the elementary grades, but I love K-2! I am not sure if you are familiar with international schools, but they use western curriculum in English. What makes it dynamic is that you have kids from all over the globe so teaching geography and social studies becomes so much more interactive. You can read more about my story on my website, but it was my dream to teach internationally since High School. I knew I wanted to travel and a teacher salary in California was not going to cut it. So happy you dropped by my blog today and would love to connect further!! My email is bethany(at)biracialbookworms(dot)com Cheers.
06/14/2017 @ 12:18 am
I love this! What a great idea! If I ever do travel, this is an amazing idea for souvenirs or gifts for others! Thanks!
06/14/2017 @ 12:48 am
The great thing is that you can do this on any level. Going to a museum, grab a book from the gift shop. Visiting the grandparents, buy a book about the town/city/state/country they grew up in. The sky is the limit!
06/13/2017 @ 10:17 pm
While I have never traveled internationally, I think this is fantastic. This is a tradition I am for sure starting!
06/13/2017 @ 11:54 pm
I think it works wonderfully domestically as well!! We always pick up new books in local museums and national parks.:)
06/13/2017 @ 8:59 pm
What a neat idea to collect books when you travel
06/13/2017 @ 1:40 pm
I am an avid bookworm and I love this fantastic idea of books as souvenirs!!! What a blessing you have traveled so much and have such lovely reads to remember them by!!
06/13/2017 @ 2:00 pm
Love meeting fellow book junkies online!! Thanks RM and happy reading!
06/13/2017 @ 4:11 am
Love collecting books on travels, too. I was also a sucker for journals. Having those blank pages to fill was addictive to me!
06/13/2017 @ 12:37 pm
Yes!!! Totally the same here. A fresh new journal is my jam!
06/12/2017 @ 11:12 pm
Wow, your story is amazing! I can’t believe all the amazing places you’ve lived. It sounds like a dream! I completely agree that books are excellent travel souvenirs. You can remember your trip each time you see the book in your library!
06/13/2017 @ 2:43 am
Thanks for commenting Tricia! It has been a lovely adventure around the world and even on the difficult days (there are many of those days too), we appreciate all the amazing people and places we get to experience with our kids! Cheers and happy reading!!
06/12/2017 @ 10:38 pm
it’s a really good idea! we have some books a dear friend brought for our son all the way from Kazakhstan!
06/12/2017 @ 10:46 pm
Kazakhstan is such a lovely country!!????
06/12/2017 @ 5:35 pm
Wow! I love this post (and your blog) so much. What an amazing adventure you are having, collecting all these books from around the world. I am in total agreement with you that there is something very personal and sentimental that attaches to books picked up while traveling. I was just thinking about what a missed opportunity it was for me to have not purchased a book in Spanish while our family was in South America. I had brought so many books from home that it slipped my mind. Next time!
06/12/2017 @ 7:07 pm
Yes!! Next time! I love it; great attitude. I have lots of things I wished I could do over as well. When I find myself thinking that way, I simply put the goal on my list and go after it. No regrets and it’s never too late! Thanks for commenting!!
06/08/2017 @ 8:51 pm
I love this! I do this whenever we visit gift shops at museums etc because it gives the book a meaning and a whole lot more value. Much more fun than another nicknack we don’t need! Great post!
06/08/2017 @ 9:29 pm
Great idea for museums Jamie! One of my favorites that is now in tatters is the Star Spangled Banner board book from the Flag House in Baltimore, MD. As we moved around the world, I loved reading this to get a piece of home. Cheers and happy reading!
06/08/2017 @ 8:09 pm
What a great idea, I remember the books that i read while on vacation but why no buy one in the location you are visiting. Brilliant.
06/08/2017 @ 8:48 pm
So much better than a toy that they eventually get bored with. Books last a lifetime!????❤️
06/08/2017 @ 3:55 am
What a lovely idea. If I ever get to travel I may have to do this for my daughter. I love books and we read a story every night before bed even though she’s only 5 months old.
06/08/2017 @ 10:08 am
That is fantastic Shari! I am putting together a course for parents now called Teach Kids to Read 0-5. It is for parents like you who love reading from birth. You can check it out at http://www.biracialbookworms.com/read-aloud-parent-guide/. Cheers.
06/07/2017 @ 12:31 pm
Is it really a vacation if you haven’t read at least one masterpiece? I used to devour books like there is no tomorrow on my vacations. When I go now I don’t have as much time to read 8/9 books in 6 to 8 weeks because I only go 2 to 3 weeks at a time.
Love always,
Zineb
06/07/2017 @ 1:28 pm
I think 9 books in 2 months is far and above the average reader! Good for you devouring books like that!! My reading life on vacation is hard with little ones but I make it a priority. I just have to be more creative with it!;)
06/07/2017 @ 11:49 am
I always buy a book! My case always weighs a tonne!
06/07/2017 @ 11:53 am
Too funny Rochelle. This is why I had to buy myself better luggage.
11/13/2016 @ 10:55 pm
What a great opportunity to appreciate other cultures.
11/13/2016 @ 10:57 pm
Thanks for your comment Karina! My perspective exactly! Do you have any favorite places you have traveled?
05/07/2015 @ 1:39 pm
An interesting post. It brought back memories of books I purchased in England, and thoughts of a lovely woman from Turkey I once knew. I thank your guest, and I thank you.
05/07/2015 @ 2:01 pm
Ah, thanks. That sounds like a delicious dose of nostalgia. Bethany is wonderful; I’m thankful for her sharing her experience. Thanks for stopping by!
05/01/2015 @ 3:33 am
I agree with you completely. No matter where I go, my memories of my trips are feelings and photos, and my souvenirs are always second hand books and teas. I really envy your friend’s profession. I cannot think of nothing more interesting than to share the love of books.
05/01/2015 @ 7:28 am
I do too. She misses home when she’s gone, but traveling is who she is and teaching internationally is her gift to the world. Thanks for taking the time to read!