Here I am on a student brigade, organized by the university. I am on the left. This photo was taken in 1948. At that time I used to live on Tsar Samuil Street and this girl, whose name was also Mati, was my roommate. We were in the same group in the university. We were good friends. Her surname was Pinkas, but she changed it to Semo when she got married to a Jew. She left for Israel with her husband in 1949. She got a diploma in history there and became a teacher.
All in all, the time spent in Kyustendil was not so bad. The town was nice and we managed to earn something. Even after 9th September 1944 we stayed there for one more year, when I was back at school to finish it. In the meantime, my uncle Israel Danon returned to Sofia from Stara Zagora. However we decided to stay, because we had no place to live in Sofia. The house we used to live in was hired by another family. Furthermore, my mother had a job in Kyustendil and if we were back to Sofia it could turn difficult for her to find a new one. Nevertheless, one year later we went back to the capital. My uncle found a job for me in the ‘Sintovi Bros’ company. I was cleaning the rooms in their office. In the evenings I studied at the high school. We renewed the relationship with all our relatives in Sofia, as soon as we came back.
I learnt how to type while I was working for ‘Sintovi Bros’. I didn't graduate from the evening school, because there was a rumor that those who graduate it are not accepted in the university. Then my mother gathered all our relatives. She told them I was a good student, but I would not be admitted to university education because I didn't attend a regular high school. She asked them for their support so I could leave the job and move to the regular school to finish the last grade. They all agreed to help and that was the way I completed my high school education.
At the end of the 1940s, when my family was very poor, we received aid from the ‘Joint’ charity organization. We received clothes, blankets and sheets. I was a high school student at that time. I clearly remember I got a nice pleated skirt with a jacket.
