Earlier this month I got to do something I've been wanting to do for a very long time: I voted in a UK election. That's right - after 24 years of residency they finally decided I must be serious, and let me have a say! Just kidding, they made me fill in reams of paperwork, wait years, and pay loads of money first - you have to really want it.
Moving across borders makes you think about what it means to belong. After so many years I thought I knew all about that, but then Brexit came along and showed me there are no expats, only immigrants. To solve this problem I became a British citizen about 2.5 years ago, and I have mixed feelings about it. Citizenship is supposed to be the final step in formalising your belonging, and I do love this stupid country. But the Brexit stink is hard to lift - like many Europeans who moved to the UK during the EU Right to Free Movement era, I feel pretty salty about it. A key component of belonging is to feel welcome, and after decades in Britain we did - I really did feel like London was home. It was a very rude awakening to realise that the rules can be changed on a whim.
I still believe in the great European family - it's a beautiful idea that changed my life. Pledging my allegiance to the Queen in the moment when this country was rejecting it was surreal, and I’ve been hoping this bitter taste would fade. I've been here long enough to know this country is better than what's been happening in recent years, but as our vet said about our cat when he scratched her, Britain continues to disgrace herself.
But London is not Britain. After the Brexit referendum, Mayor Sadiq Khan launched the “London is open” campaign, proclaiming, “No matter where you’re from, you will always belong here” - I remember reading this on billboards at the time and feeling faintly comforted by it. And while I became a citizen to restore my rights, it also gave me a little something for my trouble: it gave me the right to vote. I grew up in a culture that sees voting as "a civic duty" - a privilege and an obligation - so it was a big deal to walk into that polling station on 2nd May and vote for Mayor of London. I'm not going to lie: I felt it in my chest.
A city is so much more than a bunch of people who happen to live next to each other. The election was a reminder that this city is full of people who will vote for things like improved air quality and school lunches for children. I guess what I’m saying is that day’s experience of being a Londoner, now with full and permanent rights and responsibilities, has gone long way to remedy a lot of that other crap. That day, no one asked where I came from, because all that matters is that I’m here now, in this city that is home.
Writings
We need to talk about Germany's gigantic bedpillows - Insider
Something strange is going on in this otherwise pragmatic country. At bedtime you lie down on a large but otherwise okay pillow, only to wake up a few hours later with your head flat on the mattress, surrounded by a halo of fluff. This is the "crumple pillow" - Germany's very own giant, loose pillow that eludes logic and repels sleep. Share my frustrations with me over at Insider.
Readings
For this month's article recommendations from around the internet, head over to Reading List, First Summer Flush edition.
There are no expats, only immigrants, very true!