18 years

Last week (5th of August), I had the 18th anniversary of moving to the UK, England.

When I left Poland, I was 18—just after high school. I have now begun a period in which I will be a resident of this country longer than my birthplace.

What does it mean?

I don't know, but I ask myself this question a lot. 

(Obviously, the latest anti-immigration riots didn't help.)

Perceptions and feelings are an interesting thing. 

I left in impressionable years when the environment shaped my worldview. My childhood and teenage years were Polish, but young adult times were British.

Some people emigrate a bit later, stay in their community, work with their community and never 'integrate' whatever that means. 

Even after 20 years of living abroad, they would never call themselves British, just like British retirees in Spain would not call themselves Spanish.

Yet, after moving here, I befriended and partied with people from many countries, completed my studies here, worked in many places, and got British citizenship a few years ago.

At this point, I don't consider myself an immigrant. But not a native either. 

When I meet a new person, they often ask 'where are you from?' 

Of course, it's just curiosity, but it reminds me that I am not from here.

At the same time, when I visit Poland, I don't feel like I'm a part of that country either. It changed so much over the years; we both did. Yes, I feel nostalgic, but that's for childhood memories rather than today's longing.

Will I have to live with this split personality? In between two places? 

The more I stay here, the more I succumb to the cultural osmosis of the place.

So, I don't know what it means for now.

Naturalised Brit, I guess it works.

WHAT AM I WORKING ON

We are a week away from the 2nd half of this year’s Casefile season!

I am preparing the episodes while working on the Missing Niamh series - polishing the musical themes to be ready for the mix. I hope to finish that this week.

Paulina helped me hang the artwork of our podcasts on the wall—these are almost all the shows we have done for Casefile and Casefile Presents over the years (so far!).

We published a new Olivia Presents video on Casefile Youtube in the meantime.

Plus, after all that time and work, I finally have a semi-viral video!

We released it last week about British accents in fantasy. It now has nearly 60,000 views and hundreds of comments—some of them long writings on the history of dialects and languages. So, the video struck a chord with people.

It’s so good that the work paid off, and we are very happy! Onto the next one!

WHAT AM I READING

The Lessons of History by Will & Ariel Durant. I read this short book years ago, and it was one of the most impactful ones I ever read. So, I decided to reread it and see if I could find new wisdom in the writing. Will and Ariel Durant were historians, and this book takes a macro-look at the world, society, and our history and presents a few general lessons they learned from their work.

Religion, capitalism, freedom, socialism, class - all the fun things.

So far, Napoleon's quote has lingered: "There must be religion. Otherwise, the poor would murder the rich." This means that a fear of God keeps people in check.

With the decline of religion in the West, is that why we are now experiencing class and cultural outrage?

Is the law system insufficient to keep us in check, and do we need religion?

I don't necessarily agree, but it made me think for a bit.

WHAT AM I WATCHING

Interview with the Vampire S2. I was able to watch the whole show last week, and it’s absolutely amazing. It shows how adaptations can be done well. Yes, they changed the story a little bit and adapted it to modern times, but the overall message (as well as key points) remained true to the novel. The visuals, acting, music, and, of course, the writing deserve praise. The show has been renewed for a third season, which will adapt the second book, The Vampire Lestat.

S1 is coming to Netflix soon, so I hope it will raise the profile of this series; it deserves it.

The Umbrella Academy S4. The fourth and last season of the show is out on Netflix. I like this comic book adaptation for its humour and uniqueness. So far, the season is solid, and I’m glad they are finishing it on a high note. Well, we’ll see, as I’ve just started it.