Marseille; Spring break in the French Riviera
I spent Spring break in Marseille with my partner and his classmates. I heard so many sour things about this city. When I was younger, this wouldn’t have bothered me. At 19, family and friends discouraged me from going to Turkey, but I still travelled the country solo for a month. I got a job in a ‘dodgy suburb’ when I was 20 and walked through the streets to the train late at night. I always thought: I have as much right to be somewhere as someone else. Danger doesn’t own public space. I can also define it.
Now, I’m too tired of things gone wrong. I hate the exploitation of feeling frightened. I want my grasp of place to be rooted in peace.
So, at first, I didn’t plan to visit Marseille. But then I learnt about a direct train there from Lille. I needed the warm weather. Then I learnt all this fearmongering was (mostly) bs.
I know I always talk about the weather, and simple things. But the sun and water, the food, the shopping, the views, the crowds all defrosted me (and my misconceptions lol). I really think anytime someone has told me somewhere is dangerous, it’s just a covert way to say an area isn’t that white.
Places are complex to judge. They are an abundance beyond us. As a visitor, we only need some faith in them & cognisance to pull apart bias and power and difference. We aren’t there for long. We all deserve to be everywhere.
On a side note, my travel confidence is a bit hit. I feel like I get sick anytime I travel and need to have so much downtime. I enjoy my footage when I feel well weeks later more than being there in the moment. I love catching new details – a cute sign, someone making a decision to do something, street art, funny conversations – through editing, and the experience of reliving my memories through music.
Moving abroad really messes with your immune system. I feel like a 4-year-old starting childcare and being exposed to germs for the first time. I’m not really sure on what to do.