y2kitty
Brilliant_Rock
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2009
- Messages
- 1,770
Who Crasru
- Thread starter y2kitty
- Start date
MAC-W
Brilliant_Rock
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2009
- Messages
- 671
Indylady
Ideal_Rock
- Joined
- Apr 28, 2008
- Messages
- 5,786
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2009
- Messages
- 7,589
Date: 2/11/2010 7:03:49 PM
Author: IndyLady
Are you a scientist like your husband? Do you have hobbies besides gems? I''m also in line to hear more!
No, I am an M.D., a psychiatrist. I also have a Ph.D. in cell biology from old times. Besides my kids, hobbies include history and art. I am especially interested in the role of women in ancient times. I have several bookshelves on the subject. My husband likes to travel, so we do it a lot. Stones are the latest addition. DH feels that ancient history was much safer for me.
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2009
- Messages
- 7,589
It is a very long story, so I don''t know what to tell you. First of all - I love being in the US and think that in general Americans are amazingly welcoming and tolerant. The only time I feel uncomfortable and surprised is when people ask me if I felt America was the enemy when living in Russia.
So many people in the former Soviet Union perished during WWII that war was the thing we were most afraid of. We were always thinking, "why these Americans, otherwise fine guys, want to attack and kill us?" Cold war propaganda, of course, but now I hear it from the other side. It is strange that either side was afraid of the other one of becoming the aggressor.
I guess there were many Russias. I lived in Moscow, a huge city, went to a prestigious school and lived in blissful idiocy because my parents did not allow me to listen to the "Voice of America" or read "Gulag Archipelago". People like my husband lived in rural Russia and saw the other side of it. There was a butter-producing factory in his village, but they never saw the butter! All of it was shipped away to Moscow and other big cities. So most of women working there had to steal it! I believe his mother had to leave this job because she got caught. But who wouldn''t in her place?
People of my parent''s generation all had chronic posttraumatic stress disorder, I think. They grew up during the war, and before and after the war there were arrests, purges, jails, gulag. My father''s family was "good" according to KGB standards (they had documents on everyone) - no one had ever been arrested, all ethnically Russian (important!), of peasant stock (no gentry!). But his father had to change places of living and jobs many times because during WWI he used to be an officer in the Tzar''s army and a German prisoner. And my father''s maternal grandfather, an orphan who taught himself to read, made a fortune, lost it during the Revolution, made another small fortune, lost it again during collectivization, made yet another one, lost it during post-war financial reform. He lived till 94 and finally said that he was "tired of living in this country". And he fared quite well, because, again, in his 94 years he was neither arrested nor shot.
My mother''s mother was Russian, and her father was Jewish. It did not matter much before WWII, but became a huge deal shortly after it. "Luckily", my grandfather (a doctor) was arrested before his "Jewishness" became an issue - he simply refused to continue prescribing morphine to an important KGB boss who was, ostensibly, an addict. The same night he was arrested and by the morning signed all "confessions"...and who wouldn''t? Had he been arrested during anti-semitic processes, he would have been shot.
And how he survived in a camp is another story. To me it sounds interesting, I shall post it separately.
MAC-W
Brilliant_Rock
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2009
- Messages
- 671
wow, amazing story and so interesting. It must have been such a hard time for your grandparents who could presumably remember a time before the revolution, or did they think the revolution made life better? I guess for you who had as you say a fairly privileged upbringing (in comparison to a lot of other USSR citizens) it wasn't too bad. by the way did you think of your self as "soviet" or "russian" back then?
When did you guys decide to leave USSR/Russia and what made you decide to do that? was it difficult to do i.e permits etc? Were you quite young at the time or were you already established as a psychiatrist in Moscow?
Sorry for the questions - I just find this really interesting to get different viewpoints. My ex-husbands wife is also russian, from moscow as well, she had a piano scholarship and also did some training with the Russian Ballet. Then she hurt her back, not badly but enough to lose her scholarship so became a journalist for one of the state papers, before moving to work as a journalist for a science publication and doing part time translation assistance for visiting businessmen which is how she met my ex. I know the paperwork they had to do to get Vera permission to leave the country was phenomenal and that was in 2002
When did you guys decide to leave USSR/Russia and what made you decide to do that? was it difficult to do i.e permits etc? Were you quite young at the time or were you already established as a psychiatrist in Moscow?
Sorry for the questions - I just find this really interesting to get different viewpoints. My ex-husbands wife is also russian, from moscow as well, she had a piano scholarship and also did some training with the Russian Ballet. Then she hurt her back, not badly but enough to lose her scholarship so became a journalist for one of the state papers, before moving to work as a journalist for a science publication and doing part time translation assistance for visiting businessmen which is how she met my ex. I know the paperwork they had to do to get Vera permission to leave the country was phenomenal and that was in 2002
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2009
- Messages
- 7,589
No one on my father''s side thought that the revolution made their life better. My father who was quite a successful doctor was what I would call a "kitchen dissident" (there were many at the time). My mother''s father initially thought that the revolution allowed him to get out of "shtetl" and get education in a big city. Later, I guess, he got disappointed as well.
My maternal grandmother was another story. She joined the party at 16, before the revolution (you have to understand - at that time it was ultra-liberal, ultra-modern and ultra-popular among young people). Then she made quite a successful career, married a college professor, divorced him, married my grandfather and moved to Central Asia to bring communism there. She worked among the women, persuaded them to take off "paranja" (the veil covering their faces). Someone tried to shoot her...She was the one who always believed that "they" were right, although the Soviet regime treated her husband so badly.
We called the country "USSR" and we were "the Soviet people". In the family, we were "Russians". In general, the attitude was "whatever is, is and can not be changed and you can not do anything about it so you''d better keep your mouth shut". Plus, there were many informers at least one in each college group and till this day I don''t know who was ours although I think I have an idea.
I did not know how peasants lived and my first "trip" to a village close to Tula, a provincial town, was surely an eye-opening experience.
To finish later
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2009
- Messages
- 7,589
No one on my father''s side thought that the revolution made their life better. My father who was quite a successful doctor was what I would call a "kitchen dissident" (there were many at the time). My mother''s father initially thought that the revolution allowed him to get out of "shtetl" and get education in a big city. Later, I guess, he got disappointed as well.
My maternal grandmother was another story. She joined the party at 16, before the revolution (you have to understand - at that time it was ultra-liberal, ultra-modern and ultra-popular among young people). Then she made quite a successful career, married a college professor, divorced him, married my grandfather and moved to Central Asia to bring communism there. She worked among the women, persuaded them to take off "paranja" (the veil covering their faces). Someone tried to shoot her...She was the one who always believed that "they" were right, although the Soviet regime treated her husband so badly.
We called the country "USSR" and we were "the Soviet people". In the family, we were "Russians". In general, the attitude was "whatever is, is and can not be changed and you can not do anything about it so you''d better keep your mouth shut". Plus, there were many informers at least one in each college group and till this day I don''t know who was ours although I think I have an idea.
I did not know how peasants lived and my first "trip" to a village close to Tula, a provincial town, was surely an eye-opening experience.
To finish later
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2009
- Messages
- 7,589
Sorry, posted twice.
Some people had a chance of traveling abroad. You had to jump through a lot of hoops, have many interviews to prove that you are "reliable" and that you won''t disgrace the Soviet Union if you are asked a "provocative question". The first trip had to be to the Eastern Block country and then, if you did well, you could go to the Western one. I heard about people fainting at the stores at the mere sight of abundance, especially food, but then they would come back home and tell about homeless people living on the streets. We could obtain some nice clothes and some food but usually it was "through back doors" and paying through your nose. On Saturdays and Sundays people from villages and smaller cities would go to Moscow to buy food that they could not find in their stores.
Army was brutal. Boot camps were nothing as compared to it.
Prisons were always full. We would say, "thanks God, in Brezhnev''s time no one is being sent to Gulag", but the whole system and the way prisons were run was horrible. But in a way, Brezhnev''s time was as one poet said, "vegetarian" because for criticizing the government one could lose a promotion but not freedom or life. (Except for dissidents, but there were not too many "open" dissidents.
And then came the war with Afghanistan. Later.
Some people had a chance of traveling abroad. You had to jump through a lot of hoops, have many interviews to prove that you are "reliable" and that you won''t disgrace the Soviet Union if you are asked a "provocative question". The first trip had to be to the Eastern Block country and then, if you did well, you could go to the Western one. I heard about people fainting at the stores at the mere sight of abundance, especially food, but then they would come back home and tell about homeless people living on the streets. We could obtain some nice clothes and some food but usually it was "through back doors" and paying through your nose. On Saturdays and Sundays people from villages and smaller cities would go to Moscow to buy food that they could not find in their stores.
Army was brutal. Boot camps were nothing as compared to it.
Prisons were always full. We would say, "thanks God, in Brezhnev''s time no one is being sent to Gulag", but the whole system and the way prisons were run was horrible. But in a way, Brezhnev''s time was as one poet said, "vegetarian" because for criticizing the government one could lose a promotion but not freedom or life. (Except for dissidents, but there were not too many "open" dissidents.
And then came the war with Afghanistan. Later.
y2kitty
Brilliant_Rock
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2009
- Messages
- 1,770
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2009
- Messages
- 7,589
I left, as my friend would say, "as soon as it became possible" - in 1992. There was no persecution, and for me it was easy, I just found people who offered me a job. To understand my motives, you have to know that my father, since I was 13, kept on telling me the same thing, "if you can leave the country - leave. I see nothing good happening to it, it is all going downhill". My father was very successful, wrote 16 books, and he had a pretty good life but he also had intuition. He foresaw the unification of Germany in late 70-es.
So my husband and I, both professionals, tried to find ways to leave - many young professionals would leave Russia at the time, it was called "brain drain". My husband went to Germany to work at his post-doc and I planned to join him and was actively studying German but then I was offered this tiny, basically secretarial job in Boston (the company had some business ventures in Russia). I still remember that my monthly salary was less than $ 1000.00. Surely not enough for Boston! But I worked, studied, and at the end of the year passed all exams. For one more year I worked in research (with a significant raise in salary!) and then started my medical training. It took me 8 years to become a doctor. In the meantime, my husband moved to Toronto where he worked at York University and then found a job in Boston. My parents were raising my son for 3 years and after I got together with DH my son moved to the US.
The biggest problem with leaving Russia? - I could never tell people that I planned to stay in the US. Otherwise, no visa would be granted. So I just did not come back, and in retaliation, never got the documents verifying that I had been working in Russia (they "lost" them). So I can never expect any pension from Russia, but I don't care.
I like it here. I think US is the best choice I could have made because it is very easy to integrate into the society. I came too late to feel myself American so I am wedged in between two cultures but when I come back to Russia, people immediately feel that I am "non-Russian", and I don't know why.
Mac-W, I never worked as a psychiatrist in Russia. I was a pulmonologist. As to documents...well, at one point or another,we all need copies of our medical diplomas. My friend did it a straightforward way, sent a letter to his medical school, then another one, yet another one...in a year he got his papers. I was in Russia, so I came to my school and a secretary said, "well, these days we are trying to be self-sufficient...everything will cost". So they were sending me from one room to another, for documents, stamps, what not, and I was paying everywhere, and they were giving me official documents to verify payments. In a day and $ 400.00 lighter, I got a copy of my diploma.
For the last 800 years Russia has been living on bribes. Recently a new "anti-bribe law" has been decreed, but at the same time it was explained that bribes started with 3000 rubles. If before one could make one trip with 30000 rubles now he has to make ten with 3000!
So my husband and I, both professionals, tried to find ways to leave - many young professionals would leave Russia at the time, it was called "brain drain". My husband went to Germany to work at his post-doc and I planned to join him and was actively studying German but then I was offered this tiny, basically secretarial job in Boston (the company had some business ventures in Russia). I still remember that my monthly salary was less than $ 1000.00. Surely not enough for Boston! But I worked, studied, and at the end of the year passed all exams. For one more year I worked in research (with a significant raise in salary!) and then started my medical training. It took me 8 years to become a doctor. In the meantime, my husband moved to Toronto where he worked at York University and then found a job in Boston. My parents were raising my son for 3 years and after I got together with DH my son moved to the US.
The biggest problem with leaving Russia? - I could never tell people that I planned to stay in the US. Otherwise, no visa would be granted. So I just did not come back, and in retaliation, never got the documents verifying that I had been working in Russia (they "lost" them). So I can never expect any pension from Russia, but I don't care.
I like it here. I think US is the best choice I could have made because it is very easy to integrate into the society. I came too late to feel myself American so I am wedged in between two cultures but when I come back to Russia, people immediately feel that I am "non-Russian", and I don't know why.
Mac-W, I never worked as a psychiatrist in Russia. I was a pulmonologist. As to documents...well, at one point or another,we all need copies of our medical diplomas. My friend did it a straightforward way, sent a letter to his medical school, then another one, yet another one...in a year he got his papers. I was in Russia, so I came to my school and a secretary said, "well, these days we are trying to be self-sufficient...everything will cost". So they were sending me from one room to another, for documents, stamps, what not, and I was paying everywhere, and they were giving me official documents to verify payments. In a day and $ 400.00 lighter, I got a copy of my diploma.
For the last 800 years Russia has been living on bribes. Recently a new "anti-bribe law" has been decreed, but at the same time it was explained that bribes started with 3000 rubles. If before one could make one trip with 30000 rubles now he has to make ten with 3000!
MAC-W
Brilliant_Rock
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2009
- Messages
- 671
ROFL
'vegetarian' communism - I like it
It must have been very hard to be apart from your son for those 3 years. Were you able to go back to Russia at all in that time?
Earlier in this thread you said kids plural. How many children do you have and how old are they? What do they think of Russia? Do you take them back there very often? Did/do your parents come to visit you in America? Do you have brothers / sisters? and are they in Russia or also left?
Nosey aren't I LOL? if any of my questions are too personal or you dont want to give out that sort of info, just tell me & I will understand. I dont want to make you feel uncomfortable when you are gracious enough to tell your life story.
It must have been very hard to be apart from your son for those 3 years. Were you able to go back to Russia at all in that time?
Earlier in this thread you said kids plural. How many children do you have and how old are they? What do they think of Russia? Do you take them back there very often? Did/do your parents come to visit you in America? Do you have brothers / sisters? and are they in Russia or also left?
Nosey aren't I LOL? if any of my questions are too personal or you dont want to give out that sort of info, just tell me & I will understand. I dont want to make you feel uncomfortable when you are gracious enough to tell your life story.
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2009
- Messages
- 7,589
No, they are not nosey. I would like to know more about fellow PS-ers.Date: 2/13/2010 1:35:59 AM
Author: MAC-W
ROFL''vegetarian'' communism - I like it
It must have been very hard to be apart from your son for those 3 years. Were you able to go back to Russia at all in that time?
Earlier in this thread you said kids plural. How many children do you have and how old are they? What do they think of Russia? Do you take them back there very often? Did/do your parents come to visit you in America? Do you have brothers / sisters? and are they in Russia or also left?
Nosey aren''t I LOL? if any of my questions are too personal or you dont want to give out that sort of info, just tell me & I will understand. I dont want to make you feel uncomfortable when you are gracious enough to tell your life story.
Re. my son. Yes, it was very difficult but my parents wanted me to leave so much - my mother had said, "I''ll do anything to help you start a new life. Count on me." And she was such a devouted mother and grandmother, I knew I had rock solid help. I am an only child so my father always saw my son as a son he never had. He just doted on the kid. So another over-involved parent. I knew they could give the very best to my child.
Of course I went to Russia as soon as I got my green card, but even before that time my mother brought my son to the US to visit. She was disapponted - I lived in very tight financial situation, much worse than in Russia, did not have a car, etc. She knew how much I was earning but I think she thought it was enough for the US. She took it hard. She was very reactive and it was difficult experience for both of us. Also, she expected me to find a husband in the US and I had no intention to do so. I HAD a husband! MIL''s are sometimes quite critical.
When I went to Russia for the first time I was shocked by the fact that so much had changed. In four years, Russia was "wildly" capitalistic ("wild" means no limitations, no taxes, nothing). At the time most of ventures had been already divided and not in a just way. This is a topic of another story but obviously people with prior ties to the KGB were not living in poverty. Much has been written about it and I am not even venturing any specific opinion. So...incredible mansions, all in marble, what not, neighboring poor houses (because land was bought from the villages). People changed as well. At that time I lost any feeling of belonging to Russia.
My older son came to the US at 6 years of age. It was a huge culture and "language" shock for him. He suddenly stopped speaking at all. In a couple of months, he started speaking both languages and could "divide" them depending on who he was speaking to. He told me he was still thinking in Russian. Now he is fully bilingual but he tells me he thinks in the language he is speaking at the moment. His ex-girlfriend is Italian so he knows Italian well.
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2009
- Messages
- 7,589
So, my older kid is now 20 and has been to Russia many times. My father has been coming to stay with us almost every year. He never wanted to move to the US because he is too old, doesn''t know the language and has no friends here. My mother is buried in Russia and I think it is another reason why he doesn''t want to move. It is hard, and we have to travel to Russia several times a year, but he has someone to look after him and so far it has been working fine. Another reason why he never wanted to move is because he was working till very recently, lecturing and teaching, and he was very busy and had a full life.
My older son is now a student, does very well at school and is majoring in economy and mathematics.
He always considered himself a Russian and had this dream that one day he would come to Russia to work for a Russian company. One of my relatives is VERY rich and my son expected to work for him, I presume. But when he visited Russia in 2009 he suddenly understood that he was not a Russian and that his fluent knowledge of Russian did not turn him into one. He must have felt bitter when he came home.
My other son is only 6. I had him when I was 40, and he beat all laws of probability!. We did not plan for him. It was this 0.03% cases when things we normally use fail to work. Second, I experienced no signs of pregnancy whatsoever. We all read about it in medical textbooks, but it is a pretty rare situation. In short, when my belly started to grow my son was already 14th gestational week.
So it was a pretty short pregnancy, and now instead of an empty nest we have a feisty 6-year old in the house. He has a mild case of Asperger''s, but you probably won''t tell it if you didn''t know. His main quirk is obsession with airplanes, our house looks like huge airport, and we often go to the Museum of Flight.
His aspiration is to become "a passenger".
Well, I think it is all. We live in a nice house, and community here is diverse. There are many Asians (in fact, we have a museum of Asian art, an affiliate of Seattle Art Museum, and recently a new museum of Asian history has opened in Seattle). We now have a huge Eastern Indian community. I see many other people come and settle here. The state is becoming younger and more liberal. Library system, opera and symphony are getting much better, too.
My older son is now a student, does very well at school and is majoring in economy and mathematics.
He always considered himself a Russian and had this dream that one day he would come to Russia to work for a Russian company. One of my relatives is VERY rich and my son expected to work for him, I presume. But when he visited Russia in 2009 he suddenly understood that he was not a Russian and that his fluent knowledge of Russian did not turn him into one. He must have felt bitter when he came home.
My other son is only 6. I had him when I was 40, and he beat all laws of probability!. We did not plan for him. It was this 0.03% cases when things we normally use fail to work. Second, I experienced no signs of pregnancy whatsoever. We all read about it in medical textbooks, but it is a pretty rare situation. In short, when my belly started to grow my son was already 14th gestational week.
So it was a pretty short pregnancy, and now instead of an empty nest we have a feisty 6-year old in the house. He has a mild case of Asperger''s, but you probably won''t tell it if you didn''t know. His main quirk is obsession with airplanes, our house looks like huge airport, and we often go to the Museum of Flight.
His aspiration is to become "a passenger".
Well, I think it is all. We live in a nice house, and community here is diverse. There are many Asians (in fact, we have a museum of Asian art, an affiliate of Seattle Art Museum, and recently a new museum of Asian history has opened in Seattle). We now have a huge Eastern Indian community. I see many other people come and settle here. The state is becoming younger and more liberal. Library system, opera and symphony are getting much better, too.
MAC-W
Brilliant_Rock
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2009
- Messages
- 671
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2009
- Messages
- 7,589
Let''s start with food - it is easy.
Basically, I eat everything as long as I know what''s inside.
My favorite cuisine? My father''s. He can cook anything. It''s just in his genes. I am not much into horoscopes, but he is a typical Cancer. Cancers are considered to be the best cooks.
At this moment I also enjoy Indian cuisine - there are many Indian restaurants around here, since Microsoft is not far away from us. I am not a vegetarian so I can enjoy whatever they offer. My older son prefers chicken tikka masala, my 6-year old, usually very picky, likes tandori chicken.
Why I decided to become a psychiatrist. I always liked it, since my first rotation in Moscow, and patients liked me, but my mother advised me against it because, as she felt, I was not too strong and could "catch" it from them. You have to understand that at the time most of psychiatric illnesses were branded schizophrenia and treated accordingly. Bipolar patients would be diagnosed with schizophrenia, and most of Asperger''s, too. Worst of all - schizophrenia was considered "incurable" and having a "downward course". So I am glad that I stayed away from that field. Nothing good would have come out of such training.
When I started pursuing my medical career in the US, I had several options in mind. Internal medicine with subsequent specialization in endocrinology, psychiatry and anesthesiology. The doctors I knew here were actively talking me out of psychiatry, anesthesiology I discarded on my own. I started as an internist, but two things happened: I fell in love with geriatrics and since these people needed so much emotional support I decided that geropsychiatry was my future. At the same time, I fell ill - it is a physical illness, not running in my family, which came totally out of the left corner. Luckily, I recognized the symptoms and started treatment early. At the time I realized that I had to find a program with fewer nights on-call because lack of sleep surely did not help. So I switched over to geropsychatry, but by some wicked twist of fate, ended up in a program which had plenty of calls. (At the time I did not know it). But since things got better, I pulled through. I just knew there was no way back. |
In the program, we had a rotation in child psychiatry. I liked people working there so much that decided to switch over to child psychiatry. Moving from geriatric population to children is a huge step, but this is how it happened. (Also, my older son was diagnosed with ADHD and I got so personally involved in his care that it seemed to be the next logical step).
We had great people in my program. I really enjoyed working with them and stay in contact with my program director.
Had I stayed in Boston, I would have been in research. I like science and there were great projects (with very little money in them). But we moved, and with mortgages and everything, I soon realized that one scientist in the family should be quite enough. It is very sad that money-wise, science is not the choiciest field. Hopefully, things will change with advances in gene therapy, because it is the future of medicine.
If I have any spare time outside of working, taking care of kids, reading or traveling, I totally procrastinate.
If I got shipped off to an ininhabited island and had a choice of only one book to take with me, I''d choose "War and Peace" by Tolstoy.
I love poetry. Haven''t mastered the Kindle yet because I like holding a book in my hands. Especially old books.
My best hero and role model is my father. He is a truly amazing person. It sometimes makes my life hard because I measure everyone against him and no one stands the comparison. I yet have to see a husband so devoted to his wife as my father was. (Probably, a generalization, but since he was a doctor and my mother refused to get treated in a hospital, he did all the procedures, even the most ugly ones, at home. She had an opportunity of being treated at the best hospital of the country, but she adamantly insisted on staying at home. I think she was afraid of dying in the hospital, which eventually happened when she got so sick that they simply had to hospitalize her - at that time she had no willpower to refuse).
He dedicated his whole life to his family.
Basically, I eat everything as long as I know what''s inside.
My favorite cuisine? My father''s. He can cook anything. It''s just in his genes. I am not much into horoscopes, but he is a typical Cancer. Cancers are considered to be the best cooks.
At this moment I also enjoy Indian cuisine - there are many Indian restaurants around here, since Microsoft is not far away from us. I am not a vegetarian so I can enjoy whatever they offer. My older son prefers chicken tikka masala, my 6-year old, usually very picky, likes tandori chicken.
Why I decided to become a psychiatrist. I always liked it, since my first rotation in Moscow, and patients liked me, but my mother advised me against it because, as she felt, I was not too strong and could "catch" it from them. You have to understand that at the time most of psychiatric illnesses were branded schizophrenia and treated accordingly. Bipolar patients would be diagnosed with schizophrenia, and most of Asperger''s, too. Worst of all - schizophrenia was considered "incurable" and having a "downward course". So I am glad that I stayed away from that field. Nothing good would have come out of such training.
When I started pursuing my medical career in the US, I had several options in mind. Internal medicine with subsequent specialization in endocrinology, psychiatry and anesthesiology. The doctors I knew here were actively talking me out of psychiatry, anesthesiology I discarded on my own. I started as an internist, but two things happened: I fell in love with geriatrics and since these people needed so much emotional support I decided that geropsychiatry was my future. At the same time, I fell ill - it is a physical illness, not running in my family, which came totally out of the left corner. Luckily, I recognized the symptoms and started treatment early. At the time I realized that I had to find a program with fewer nights on-call because lack of sleep surely did not help. So I switched over to geropsychatry, but by some wicked twist of fate, ended up in a program which had plenty of calls. (At the time I did not know it). But since things got better, I pulled through. I just knew there was no way back. |
In the program, we had a rotation in child psychiatry. I liked people working there so much that decided to switch over to child psychiatry. Moving from geriatric population to children is a huge step, but this is how it happened. (Also, my older son was diagnosed with ADHD and I got so personally involved in his care that it seemed to be the next logical step).
We had great people in my program. I really enjoyed working with them and stay in contact with my program director.
Had I stayed in Boston, I would have been in research. I like science and there were great projects (with very little money in them). But we moved, and with mortgages and everything, I soon realized that one scientist in the family should be quite enough. It is very sad that money-wise, science is not the choiciest field. Hopefully, things will change with advances in gene therapy, because it is the future of medicine.
If I have any spare time outside of working, taking care of kids, reading or traveling, I totally procrastinate.
If I got shipped off to an ininhabited island and had a choice of only one book to take with me, I''d choose "War and Peace" by Tolstoy.
I love poetry. Haven''t mastered the Kindle yet because I like holding a book in my hands. Especially old books.
My best hero and role model is my father. He is a truly amazing person. It sometimes makes my life hard because I measure everyone against him and no one stands the comparison. I yet have to see a husband so devoted to his wife as my father was. (Probably, a generalization, but since he was a doctor and my mother refused to get treated in a hospital, he did all the procedures, even the most ugly ones, at home. She had an opportunity of being treated at the best hospital of the country, but she adamantly insisted on staying at home. I think she was afraid of dying in the hospital, which eventually happened when she got so sick that they simply had to hospitalize her - at that time she had no willpower to refuse).
He dedicated his whole life to his family.
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2009
- Messages
- 7,589
And, oh, my husband.
I was working at my Ph.D. - cell biology but applied to bronchial asthma. So I needed a group of healthy volunteers - people without asthma who would agree to do pulmonary function tests and give blood (one tube) one time for in vitro studies. Since there was no such thing as healthy volunteers institution for a single study with a small control group, I had to find people on my own. One of my guy friends who was into yachting came to visit me and spent the whole evening telling me about his yacht club and his yacht friends. So I told him, you have all these healthy guys around you, with good lungs, would they agree to be healthy volunteers? I am going to pay out-of-pocket for them to participate in the study. So he brought in this group from his yacht club plus his friend from the faculty of physics at Moscow State University. The friend was a semi-professional, high-ranking swimmer. Also a 4.0 student who always got personal scholarships. BTW none of the guys accepted money for participation because many of them were either working at their Ph.D.''s or had graduated - I''d say "for the love of science".
This swimmer had such an awesome lung capacity, we had to recalibrate all our spirometeres afterwards! More interesting, he was 195 cm. tall and pretty handsome. Not cute, but handsome, with dark hair and blue eyes. But he was visibly unimpressed by either me or my science, even after the in vitro tests. (Other healthy volunteers were very much volunteering to take me out, but not this one).
So one year later, I came across my friend on the street - he just maintained his thesis and was planning to celebrate. Well, one thing led to another and by the end of the evening this healthy volunteer cum swimmer LEFT ME HIS PHONE NUMBER saying I could call if I wanted to. I deliberated for two weeks and than called.
We have been married for 22 years. Have two sons. My oldest one is pretty handsome, with blondish hair (my natural hair is dark blonde) and blue eyes. I don''t know how my youngest one will turn out looks-wise but he is surely tall! My husband always reminds me that I definitely chose a healthy volunteer.
I was working at my Ph.D. - cell biology but applied to bronchial asthma. So I needed a group of healthy volunteers - people without asthma who would agree to do pulmonary function tests and give blood (one tube) one time for in vitro studies. Since there was no such thing as healthy volunteers institution for a single study with a small control group, I had to find people on my own. One of my guy friends who was into yachting came to visit me and spent the whole evening telling me about his yacht club and his yacht friends. So I told him, you have all these healthy guys around you, with good lungs, would they agree to be healthy volunteers? I am going to pay out-of-pocket for them to participate in the study. So he brought in this group from his yacht club plus his friend from the faculty of physics at Moscow State University. The friend was a semi-professional, high-ranking swimmer. Also a 4.0 student who always got personal scholarships. BTW none of the guys accepted money for participation because many of them were either working at their Ph.D.''s or had graduated - I''d say "for the love of science".
This swimmer had such an awesome lung capacity, we had to recalibrate all our spirometeres afterwards! More interesting, he was 195 cm. tall and pretty handsome. Not cute, but handsome, with dark hair and blue eyes. But he was visibly unimpressed by either me or my science, even after the in vitro tests. (Other healthy volunteers were very much volunteering to take me out, but not this one).
So one year later, I came across my friend on the street - he just maintained his thesis and was planning to celebrate. Well, one thing led to another and by the end of the evening this healthy volunteer cum swimmer LEFT ME HIS PHONE NUMBER saying I could call if I wanted to. I deliberated for two weeks and than called.
We have been married for 22 years. Have two sons. My oldest one is pretty handsome, with blondish hair (my natural hair is dark blonde) and blue eyes. I don''t know how my youngest one will turn out looks-wise but he is surely tall! My husband always reminds me that I definitely chose a healthy volunteer.
DiaDiva
Brilliant_Rock
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2004
- Messages
- 1,989
y2kitty
Brilliant_Rock
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2009
- Messages
- 1,770
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2009
- Messages
- 7,589
OK I shall either try to make a picture myself or ask a friend of mine, an former designer who lost her job and is now establishing her new business (animal photography) to make a very good one for me. I saw her website and was amazed at what she could do.
Also, I am really sorry, I re-read my posters and found so many mistakes in spelling and vocabulary. I am sorry, I type fast and usually do not check it hence the mistakes. Also, I was naturally far-sighted and with age it became worse. But since far-sighted people have sharp eyesight I am not used to eyeglasses although I should be wearing them. It doesn't help. Please forgive me if you see too many mistakes, especially in the morning!
Also, I am really sorry, I re-read my posters and found so many mistakes in spelling and vocabulary. I am sorry, I type fast and usually do not check it hence the mistakes. Also, I was naturally far-sighted and with age it became worse. But since far-sighted people have sharp eyesight I am not used to eyeglasses although I should be wearing them. It doesn't help. Please forgive me if you see too many mistakes, especially in the morning!
MAC-W
Brilliant_Rock
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2009
- Messages
- 671
Thank you for sharing so much information. I feel I really know you now. And I love the "healthy volunteer" story - so cute
But... I have another question...... (of course I do
I always have questions
)
With all the travel you and your husband do and having lived in USSR, USA etc, .....
what''s your favourite place that you have visited /been to?
1. In USSR/Russia?
2. In USA?
3. Elsewhere?
Also where have you not been but would really like to go?
But... I have another question...... (of course I do
With all the travel you and your husband do and having lived in USSR, USA etc, .....
what''s your favourite place that you have visited /been to?
1. In USSR/Russia?
2. In USA?
3. Elsewhere?
Also where have you not been but would really like to go?
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2009
- Messages
- 7,589
Best place in the USSR? A couple.Date: 2/21/2010 9:00:36 AM
Author: MAC-W
Thank you for sharing so much information. I feel I really know you now. And I love the ''healthy volunteer'' story - so cute
But... I have another question...... (of course I doI always have questions)
With all the travel you and your husband do and having lived in USSR, USA etc, .....
what''s your favourite place that you have visited /been to?
1. In USSR/Russia?
2. In USA?
3. Elsewhere?
Also where have you not been but would really like to go?
First - St. Petersburg. Because of museums and architecture. It is an amazingly beautiful city.
Also - Central Asia, Samarkand. Totally different history and architecture, very interesting place to see. Hygiene, of course, is not the best in the world but if you can cope with a bunch of flies... The Uzbeks are very hospitable people.
In USA - Oh, I love my Boston. Also, New York, Washington, DC, Philly and Chicago. (I am mentioning places where I would like to live).
Elsewhere? - I can not name one place but we all absolutely loved Australia - we''ve been to Sydney and Melbourne. Worth the flight!
We have been to Germany many times and feel almost at home there. I love London; my husband finds it too expensive. And, for some unknown reason, I fell in love with tiny Holland.
I''d like to "live" in Louvre but we must have hit a wrong time in Paris - it was after the riots, and people were not too welcoming.
Another place I would advise to visit - Sicily. For people who like history, you can find everything there - Greek temples, Phoenician city, Medieval cathedral, Roman villas.
Places I would like to see? Two: Greece and New Zealand. My husband is semi-afraid to take me to Greece - he thinks that with my love of ancient world, I might decide to stay there (LOL).
Best people''s attitude? In Mexico.
MAC-W
Brilliant_Rock
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2009
- Messages
- 671
I know what you mean about Germany. We were there for 4 1/2 years and I felt so at home. Its a very easy country to live in isnt it? And the Louvre absolutely... But Paris? I hated it. I mean really really hated it. I used to work in Chalon-sur-Soane but every time I had to go up to Paris I was like "noooooooo, please dont make me do that" LOL. The people in Paris are never welcoming, its got nothing to do with the riots etc. (So different from the 'provincial' towns) Parisians are just generally rude and arrogant. And its such a dirty city dont you think? the bits around the major tourist attractions are generally kept not too bad but outside of that I found it to be yuk. Maybe its changed since I was there in the early 90's [:shrug:]
And wow Samarkand... thats definately a place I would like to go. I'm so jealous you've been there. It must have been amazing. Please, please, please tell me more about your time there. Its No.3 on my 'bucket list' of places still to see (Bhutan is No.1 and Guatamala is No.2) And actually Boston (for Christmas shopping) is No.4, so if I ever manage that I now know who to ask for advises LOL. My SIL went Xmas shopping there a few years back and said it was amazing.
Also personally I would have to say go to Turkey before you do Greece. (and then your husband should be really, really afraid haha) Everyone talks about Greece as amazing, but I found that Turkey blew Greece out of the water but that maybe because I lived in Istanbul for a couple of years and know it better. And if you go outside IST then there are so many things and places that will just blow your mind (Epheses, Pamukkale, Cappadiocia). For me the only other place that came close to that was Egypt but I'm hoping if I ever make it to Samarkand, I will have the same reaction.
The one place I would advise to avoid is Malta. We went there on holday one year and I had really high hopes for it cos I'm fascinated by crusader history but it was extremely disappointing
Oh and if you ever come to OZ again give me a shout if its the West Coast. We have so many fascinating places here if you like natural history. Much better than the East Coast (and I'm originally a EC girl so thats saying a lot). One of my friends is involved in indigenous tourism so can organise "special" tours for you.
Anyway enough about countries/ travel etc... lets get back to gemstones.
if you could only ever buy one more gemstone (in the the rest of your life) which would it be? I know I know - cruel question. I'll answer it first, I would buy the largest Hauyne ever cut which I think is about 7.5 ct (subject to a lotto win of course)
And wow Samarkand... thats definately a place I would like to go. I'm so jealous you've been there. It must have been amazing. Please, please, please tell me more about your time there. Its No.3 on my 'bucket list' of places still to see (Bhutan is No.1 and Guatamala is No.2) And actually Boston (for Christmas shopping) is No.4, so if I ever manage that I now know who to ask for advises LOL. My SIL went Xmas shopping there a few years back and said it was amazing.
Also personally I would have to say go to Turkey before you do Greece. (and then your husband should be really, really afraid haha) Everyone talks about Greece as amazing, but I found that Turkey blew Greece out of the water but that maybe because I lived in Istanbul for a couple of years and know it better. And if you go outside IST then there are so many things and places that will just blow your mind (Epheses, Pamukkale, Cappadiocia). For me the only other place that came close to that was Egypt but I'm hoping if I ever make it to Samarkand, I will have the same reaction.
The one place I would advise to avoid is Malta. We went there on holday one year and I had really high hopes for it cos I'm fascinated by crusader history but it was extremely disappointing
Oh and if you ever come to OZ again give me a shout if its the West Coast. We have so many fascinating places here if you like natural history. Much better than the East Coast (and I'm originally a EC girl so thats saying a lot). One of my friends is involved in indigenous tourism so can organise "special" tours for you.
Anyway enough about countries/ travel etc... lets get back to gemstones.
if you could only ever buy one more gemstone (in the the rest of your life) which would it be? I know I know - cruel question. I'll answer it first, I would buy the largest Hauyne ever cut which I think is about 7.5 ct (subject to a lotto win of course)
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2009
- Messages
- 7,589
Samarkand is all about blue sky, bright sun and equally bright mosques. Very hospitable people, bazaars with awesome fruits. Uruk (apricots) is amazing! If you ever get there in a season when peach trees blossom...you'll never forget it! The flowers resemble pads in color. Old mill- two stones lying atop one another, with a pole in the upper one, and a donkey with a tie on his eyes walking in rounds, tied up to the pole..Date: 2/27/2010 9:52:07 AM
Author: MAC-W
I know what you mean about Germany. We were there for 4 1/2 years and I felt so at home. Its a very easy country to live in isnt it? And the Louvre absolutely... But Paris? I hated it. I mean really really hated it. I used to work in Chalon-sur-Soane but every time I had to go up to Paris I was like 'noooooooo, please dont make me do that' LOL. The people in Paris are never welcoming, its got nothing to do with the riots etc. (So different from the 'provincial' towns) Parisians are just generally rude and arrogant. And its such a dirty city dont you think? the bits around the major tourist attractions are generally kept not too bad but outside of that I found it to be yuk. Maybe its changed since I was there in the early 90's [:shrug:]
And wow Samarkand... thats definately a place I would like to go. I'm so jealous you've been there. It must have been amazing. Please, please, please tell me more about your time there. Its No.3 on my 'bucket list' of places still to see (Bhutan is No.1 and Guatamala is No.2) And actually Boston (for Christmas shopping) is No.4, so if I ever manage that I now know who to ask for advises LOL. My SIL went Xmas shopping there a few years back and said it was amazing.
Also personally I would have to say go to Turkey before you do Greece. (and then your husband should be really, really afraid haha) Everyone talks about Greece as amazing, but I found that Turkey blew Greece out of the water but that maybe because I lived in Istanbul for a couple of years and know it better. And if you go outside IST then there are so many things and places that will just blow your mind (Epheses, Pamukkale, Cappadiocia). For me the only other place that came close to that was Egypt but I'm hoping if I ever make it to Samarkand, I will have the same reaction.
The one place I would advise to avoid is Malta. We went there on holday one year and I had really high hopes for it cos I'm fascinated by crusader history but it was extremely disappointing
Oh and if you ever come to OZ again give me a shout if its the West Coast. We have so many fascinating places here if you like natural history. Much better than the East Coast (and I'm originally a EC girl so thats saying a lot). One of my friends is involved in indigenous tourism so can organise 'special' tours for you.
Anyway enough about countries/ travel etc... lets get back to gemstones.
if you could only ever buy one more gemstone (in the the rest of your life) which would it be? I know I know - cruel question. I'll answer it first, I would buy the largest Hauyne ever cut which I think is about 7.5 ct (subject to a lotto win of course)
I am not a firm believer in reincarnation but Samarkand was the only place on earth where I got this strange feeling...I was standing on the mountain with ruins of observatory built by Khan Ulugbek in, I think, 12th or 13th century (I may be wrong with the dates). And suddenly I got this feeling of deja vu. It was in the air, which was clean and almost bright from the sun. I expected this feeling to come in Europe, maybe in Sicily with its ancient ruins but never in the East.
One more gemstone. Hard to tell. Probably, an ultramarine bluish-blue Kashmir sapphire. Yes. If sapphires are gone, the best Alex I could find. If all Alexes have been sold - then a pink, totally natural, untreated diamond could do the job.
BTW - totally agree regarding Paris. The only place in the world where our (then) 2-year old was called "merde" (he touched something in a cafe. Very dirty cafe at this). But I think that Parisians are, mostly, unhappy with themselves because the birth rate is steadily declining and the place is becoming old and grim. (It is a huge problem for Europe. In general, I have noticed that in places with low birth rate, people appear very unhappy).
MAC-W
Brilliant_Rock
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2009
- Messages
- 671
LOL. I know what you mean about the reincarnation.
When we first landed in Capetown Hubby had exactly the same reaction. He said he felt like he had come home (this was less than 5 mins after we walked out of the airport. His reaction to SAf was amazing to see). He subsequently found out that his mum had lived there during her childhood (she doesn talk much about her time in SAf and he didnt find out about that part of her childhood until after we were there) and then when we bought the house in George and MIL came to visit for holiday, we found out she had spent 4 years living in Knysna which was just up the road. Hubby was convinced thats why he felt so at home in SAf. Personally I thought it had everything to do with the golf LOL.
I had the same sort of reaction when on holiday at Abu Simbal. My father was a Vicar and I used to get dragged around all sorts of churches / cathedrals etc on holidays but I can truly say Abu Simbal is the holiest place I've ever been to.
For some reason (I wonder why?
Ok you've definately inspired my wrt Samarkland. I might even have to dip into my gem fund to make sure I get there.
MAC-W
Brilliant_Rock
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2009
- Messages
- 671
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2009
- Messages
- 7,589
My grandfather''s story.
He was a Jewish boy raised in shtettl (a small jewish village - before the Revolution, Jews were not really allowed to settle in big cities). After the Revolution, he went to Petrograd (St. Petersburg) and finally graduated from a medical school there. He was a very smart guy, a brilliant surgeon. His family did not accept his shiksa ("goika" in Idish) wife but he loved her to death and followed her everywhere. During the WWII he was a chief surgeon in one of the armies (it is hard to explain - an army was a large subdivision, several armies formed "a front" and there were several fronts in Russian troops...the names always changed). He finished the war in Manchuria. My mother humorously tells me how the soldiers were coming back dragging tons of luggage with them (spoils of war) and then her father came out...carrying the same small valise that he left with.
He worked in Sverdlovsk where they used to live, was a well-known urologist, a surgeon. He was arrested in 1951 because one of the NKVD (later KGB) officers who was granfather''s patient got angry - my grandfather refused to prescribe morphine to the guy (who was an opiate addict). Well, the officer promptly reported and my grandfather was arrested the same night.
What happened during that night he later told only one person (not his family member). By the morning this brave, courageous, proud man signed everything.
He was sent to the far, far North. When he entered the carriage, he found himself in the same compartment with thieves and criminals (he was "political", and as such simply had no rights). They first thing they did was to strip him bare and divide the clothes. He was positive he would freeze to death but after a game of cards (his clothes were the bets) the criminals got tired and asked him to "tell them a roman" (a story, a tale, what not...many of them were illiterate). So he started telling them "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Dumas. He had chrystal clear memory. I do not know if you had read this book...it is an ideal book for chriminals. An honest guy who is unjustly accused, spends 20 years in jail, then escapes, becomes rich and swears to take revenge...So, after an hour or two my grandfather said he was tired and hungry and freezing and refused to tell them more...got some food and some clothes back. By the time the train arrived at Inta, he had all his clothes back and was fed. The guys respected him.
Now, the train arrives at Inta. Night, cold, the camp guards, German shepherd dogs. And a bunch of tired, scared people (they were made sit in the snow). One of the guards asks, "which of you is the surgeon?"
Well, thought my GF, here it is going to end. What happened is that the camp''s chief''s wife who was 7 months pregnant had acute appendicitis. No surgeon for a 100 miles around (if that!). Grandfather said it was the fastest appendectomy he ever performed. On top of everything, no anesthesia. I guess they used vodka till the lady was totally drunk. (And what would one do?).
Well, the scars healed, no complications, so grandfather earned points with the camp''s bosses. Then...oh god. The criminals basically "ran" the camps (Solzhenitsyn describes it very well). And the criminals were ran by respected "legal" thieves (like capos in mafia). So one day they were playing cards and one of these guys lost everything. Gambler''s nature...he bet his own eye. Lost it. Needed a good prosthesis. So my grandfather made a model of "anatomicaly correct prosthesis" (there were enough people to make it in camp''s workshop). So he gained scores with these criminals. At least they would not take away the products he got from the house (a typical thing for the camps).
My grandmother who was a very brave woman was constantly taking trips to Moscow, writing letters to NKVD officials. My mother was afraid that the GM would end up arrested as well. But she did not. In fact, she might have saved him. Because after Stalin''s death, there was an amnesty. Mostly it was for the criminals and very few "poliltical" were able to get out. (They were let out in 1956, after Khrushev came to power). Well, since my grandfather''s documents were always reviewed, his paperwork was always "on top" of the pile so he got out in August of 1953.
In 1956, "politicals" were "rehabilitated" (their names were cleaned...not everyone got it). When my grandfather asked to show him documents that made the basis for his arrest, he was shown just a sheet of paper...the letter of that officer.
My mother''s comment? "Well, he was lucky, he got arrested in 1951, not 1953" (shortly before Stalin died, in another bout of paranoia, he started a campaign against doctors who were "not treating people correctly...poisoning our leaders with their drugs". Most of these doctors were Jews. It marked the beginning of anti-semitic campaign.) So my grandfather, being a doctor and a Jew, might have been executed at the height of the campaign.
I think my mother always had PTSD as the result of it. As to my grandfather, for a year after getting out of the camp, he was holding his hands back during his walks, like prisoners do.
He was a Jewish boy raised in shtettl (a small jewish village - before the Revolution, Jews were not really allowed to settle in big cities). After the Revolution, he went to Petrograd (St. Petersburg) and finally graduated from a medical school there. He was a very smart guy, a brilliant surgeon. His family did not accept his shiksa ("goika" in Idish) wife but he loved her to death and followed her everywhere. During the WWII he was a chief surgeon in one of the armies (it is hard to explain - an army was a large subdivision, several armies formed "a front" and there were several fronts in Russian troops...the names always changed). He finished the war in Manchuria. My mother humorously tells me how the soldiers were coming back dragging tons of luggage with them (spoils of war) and then her father came out...carrying the same small valise that he left with.
He worked in Sverdlovsk where they used to live, was a well-known urologist, a surgeon. He was arrested in 1951 because one of the NKVD (later KGB) officers who was granfather''s patient got angry - my grandfather refused to prescribe morphine to the guy (who was an opiate addict). Well, the officer promptly reported and my grandfather was arrested the same night.
What happened during that night he later told only one person (not his family member). By the morning this brave, courageous, proud man signed everything.
He was sent to the far, far North. When he entered the carriage, he found himself in the same compartment with thieves and criminals (he was "political", and as such simply had no rights). They first thing they did was to strip him bare and divide the clothes. He was positive he would freeze to death but after a game of cards (his clothes were the bets) the criminals got tired and asked him to "tell them a roman" (a story, a tale, what not...many of them were illiterate). So he started telling them "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Dumas. He had chrystal clear memory. I do not know if you had read this book...it is an ideal book for chriminals. An honest guy who is unjustly accused, spends 20 years in jail, then escapes, becomes rich and swears to take revenge...So, after an hour or two my grandfather said he was tired and hungry and freezing and refused to tell them more...got some food and some clothes back. By the time the train arrived at Inta, he had all his clothes back and was fed. The guys respected him.
Now, the train arrives at Inta. Night, cold, the camp guards, German shepherd dogs. And a bunch of tired, scared people (they were made sit in the snow). One of the guards asks, "which of you is the surgeon?"
Well, thought my GF, here it is going to end. What happened is that the camp''s chief''s wife who was 7 months pregnant had acute appendicitis. No surgeon for a 100 miles around (if that!). Grandfather said it was the fastest appendectomy he ever performed. On top of everything, no anesthesia. I guess they used vodka till the lady was totally drunk. (And what would one do?).
Well, the scars healed, no complications, so grandfather earned points with the camp''s bosses. Then...oh god. The criminals basically "ran" the camps (Solzhenitsyn describes it very well). And the criminals were ran by respected "legal" thieves (like capos in mafia). So one day they were playing cards and one of these guys lost everything. Gambler''s nature...he bet his own eye. Lost it. Needed a good prosthesis. So my grandfather made a model of "anatomicaly correct prosthesis" (there were enough people to make it in camp''s workshop). So he gained scores with these criminals. At least they would not take away the products he got from the house (a typical thing for the camps).
My grandmother who was a very brave woman was constantly taking trips to Moscow, writing letters to NKVD officials. My mother was afraid that the GM would end up arrested as well. But she did not. In fact, she might have saved him. Because after Stalin''s death, there was an amnesty. Mostly it was for the criminals and very few "poliltical" were able to get out. (They were let out in 1956, after Khrushev came to power). Well, since my grandfather''s documents were always reviewed, his paperwork was always "on top" of the pile so he got out in August of 1953.
In 1956, "politicals" were "rehabilitated" (their names were cleaned...not everyone got it). When my grandfather asked to show him documents that made the basis for his arrest, he was shown just a sheet of paper...the letter of that officer.
My mother''s comment? "Well, he was lucky, he got arrested in 1951, not 1953" (shortly before Stalin died, in another bout of paranoia, he started a campaign against doctors who were "not treating people correctly...poisoning our leaders with their drugs". Most of these doctors were Jews. It marked the beginning of anti-semitic campaign.) So my grandfather, being a doctor and a Jew, might have been executed at the height of the campaign.
I think my mother always had PTSD as the result of it. As to my grandfather, for a year after getting out of the camp, he was holding his hands back during his walks, like prisoners do.
MAC-W
Brilliant_Rock
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2009
- Messages
- 671
Sorry I havent been back to this thread for a while - busy with work, daughters etc
WOW - Thats an amazing story. How lucky was your grandfather (at the end I mean, not the beginning)
Having grown up and lived in ''westernised'' countries for most of my life. its hard to comprehend such a strict regime.
I can see why you respect your grandparents so much after everything they went through. They must be such amazing people to survive that.
It must be nice to know you have such "strong" genes in your blood. If they can do that, you as their grandaughter can do anything.
WOW - Thats an amazing story. How lucky was your grandfather (at the end I mean, not the beginning)
Having grown up and lived in ''westernised'' countries for most of my life. its hard to comprehend such a strict regime.
I can see why you respect your grandparents so much after everything they went through. They must be such amazing people to survive that.
It must be nice to know you have such "strong" genes in your blood. If they can do that, you as their grandaughter can do anything.
The Ultimate Guide to Men’s Wedding Bands: Metals, Fit & Finish
The Ultimate Guide to Men’s Wedding Bands: Metals, Fit & Finish - 06/27
Chipped Diamonds: Causes, Risks, and What You Should Do About It
Chipped Diamonds: Causes, Risks, and What You Should Do About It - 06/27
300x240.png)