Aleksandra (Poland), Gabriele (Italy) and Ilona (Latvia) went to the European Comission to interview Aleksandra Hedb from Silesia (a Polish mining region). She was born near the border with Czech Republic so she has been dealing with other cultures from the early beginnings of her life. She was studying sociology at the University of Breslau and came to Brussels in 2003. Although the beginnings were difficult, she stayed in the capital of Belgium and took a chance to change her life. She didn’t have a well-prepared plan, but she had a sense of luck and was determined and now she is working in the European Community and has a lot of prospects for the future. She says that now she can empathize with the representatives of minorities and help them more effective, because she knows the feeling of being a stranger. Aleksandra claims that her first work in Brussels gave her a piece of experience that can be used in her life. Living in Brussels, meeting with its multiculture built her identity too.
Now she is more sociable person, always ready for coping with problems of the others. Aleksandra is also more tolerant than she used to be in Poland since living in the capital of Belgium is strongly connected with handling the diversity. However, although she is happy in Brussels, she miss her country and family. Returning to the motherhood helps her in keeping her identity and finding the balance in very competitive world that we all be living in today.
