 At the age of seven, he attended the Universal Exposition in Lyon, which featured exhibits on French Indochina, including Cambodia.He grew up with an awareness of and interest in the land in which he had been born, but no great desire to return there.In 1904, at the age of 17, George published his first book, a self-published poetry collection entitled "La Chanson d'un Jeune" ("Song of a Youth").