London by the local
When I moved to live in the British capital in 2012, it was not the easiest time for me to adjust. Suffice to say, I had a love-hate relationship with this city, mostly hate to be honest. Everyone told me how amazing my life would be in one of the best metropolies of the world and all I could see were ridiculous prices, problems with finding job, crazy distances between places and thousands of people on the streets; definitely, I felt overwhelmed. It took some time to get used to London vibes and now I love where I live; I feel proud of being a Polish Londoner, something I have…
mindfulness practice for expats’ families
Being an expat is tough, but it’s even tougher to be the expat’s partner, no matter how we would call them (my preferable term is “a trailing spouse”, but I know that for some people it sounds belittling). When I train, mentor or coach accompanying partners I encourage them to incorporate mindfulness practices into daily life. The purpose is to bring one’s attention to the present moment. There is no judgment involved, your present is neither good, nor bad – it just is. You learn to accept it, but it doesn’t mean that you stop being proactive, by the way. The perfect summary of this practices can be found in…
questions my clients ask – part 1
I have been working with expats relocating to other countries for many years and even though they come from different cultures, they actually ask very similar questions. They check my website, so this post is written to answer some of their questions beforehand, maybe even give you and them some insights about my work too, and will be one of many. It’s not possible to cover such a vast subject in only few minutes read, it would simply be too much for you to digest in one go. Trust me, you do not want to feel overwhelmed. If you have questions which are not answered here, let me know in…
My intercultural journey
Hello, My name is Konrad Wdowiak and I was born in Poland in 1976, when the communist regime realised that it is supported by less and less Polish citizens. At one point they decided to introduce Martial Law, blocked the borders so no one could leave the country; not too many people could come in neither. And Lublin, my hometown, is the place where people of different religions and nationalities used to live together for hundreds of years. The remnants of its former burghers’ cultures are still there. During communist rule they were kept timidly hidden and never praised like those people have never existed. But they were still there:…
