Little Kami and her world

This photo was taken in 1993 so I was 3 years old at that time. In the picture, I am holding my favorite cuddly toy - a little teddy bear that is wearing purple with white spots. In the background, there is another teddy bear. This teddy bear is all white, and he used to be my bodyguard as he was as tall as I was at the age of 3.

I have many happy childhood memories. It was the best period of time in my whole life - no problems, no worries, no decision making... Or maybe the only worry I had at that time was that I usually wanted to play with the toy which my younger sister was playing with.


In the photo below, you can see me (6 years old) and my little sister (3 years old):

Columbus reaches India

I have never heard of Doctor Who before, but this show seems to be interesting and worth watching. Who knows? Perhaps I will watch it soon :)

Since there are many historic events whose change would have a significant effect on the future of the world or/and the future of my country, choosing one moment in history that I would like to change was quite a difficult task for me. Finally, I decided to change the outcome of  Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492, during which he discovered America.

Now, we are back in the year 1492. Together with Vasco da Gamma, I join Columbus's crew of the Santa Maria ship. Why Vasco da Gamma? Because he was an explorer and he succeeded in reaching India later on. I think that he was a right person who would be able to show Columbus his mistake and persuade him to change the direction of the ship. And... as Vasco da Gamma was the first man who managed to sail directly from Europe to India, I would not like to deprive him of his success. Therefore, in my story, Vasco da Gamma gives Columbus some suggestions, and Columbus admits his mistake and changes direction. After a few months spent on board ship, they arrive at India (this is their common success) and name the people of that land Indians.

What are my motives for changing this event? I would like to make history more logical and avoid a question why the indigenous people of America are called Indians today?

I'm obsessed with...

It was around ten years ago (I was ten at that time) that I got a book written by Małgorzata Musierowicz in reward for my good grades. The title of that book was Kłamczucha. It tells the story of a fifteen-year-old girl, Aniela Kowalik, who falls in love with a boy named Paweł. To be closer to her beloved, she moves from Łeba to Poznań and starts working as a cleaner in Paweł’s house. What is interesting, she works in disguise, pretending to be Franciszka Wyrobek.

Once I read Kłamczucha I became obsessed with Małgorzata Musierowicz’s novels, especially those that belong to the series referred to as Jeżycjada. I have read almost all of the books included in the volume. My favorite one is Opium w rosole.

 

Małgorzata Musierowicz is a popular Polish writer, author of many stories and novels for children and teenagers. She was born in Poznań and used to live in Jeżyce. She is a talented writer. I esteem her for her good sense of humor and creativity. What I like about her books is that she brings up teenagers’ problems in them and gives alternative solutions. Besides, her books teach love, friendship, understanding and truthfulness.

 Małgorzata Musierowicz’s novels have positively influenced me. Owing to her books my passion for reading started and it lasts up to the present day. At the time when I was reading her books I realized how much pleasure and fun reading can provide.

Are foreign languages worth learning?

What would my life be without knowing any foreign language? I can't imagine this. I have always liked learning foreign languages, looking up some interesting words in dictionaries, or listening to people speaking foreign languages. This gives me a lot of pleasure and satisfaction. Besides, the knowledge of foreign languages opens doors – it helps find a good job, communicate with people, make friends around the world, travel and get to know another culture.

With reference to an article in the Observer I'd like to say that people who don't want to, don't even try to learn a foreign language and require that other people know and speak their language show ignorance, especially when they happen to stay abroad. The fact that English is nowadays extremely popular around the world doesn't exempt its native speakers from learning foreign languages. I think that the British government made a grave mistake by removing foreign languages from the school curriculum after the age of 14. Don't deceive ourselves! Precious few young people will decide to learn a foreign language on their own if it's not compulsory.

I totally agree with the author of the article – not knowing any foreign language limits our possibilities, the possibilities for better, high-ranking jobs, the possibilities for getting to know other cultures and customs, the possibilities for better understanding of other people. If we know only one language which is our native language, we are, in a way, trapped in one world, one reality, one culture and we seem to be closed to new experiences. In this way, we don’t self-develop ourselves, broaden our horizons and knowledge about the world. What makes the world beautiful is not homogeneity but diversity, a diversity of languages, cultures, religions…

It is commonly known that the French are not very keen on learning foreign languages. They want other people to speak French and they usually feel hurt if somebody tries to communicate with them in English or any other foreign language while staying in their country. Last summer I spent 2 weeks in France. It was a kind of a Polish-French exchange with a 20-year-old history. Although some of the French I met have taken part in this exchange for 5, 10 or even more years, they haven’t learnt Polish yet. Why do only we (Poles) have to know French? Why don’t the French learn Polish???

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