Rosa Kolevska and Vassil Kolevski

These are my ex-husband Vassil Kolevski and I. The picture was taken in Sorento [Italy], where we were on an excursion in 1959. I met my husband at university, when I was still a student. He was born in the village of Yavorovo on 6th March 1925. He graduated in Russian philology just like me. He is a professor; he used to be rector at VITIZ [Higher Institute of Theater and Film Arts, now NATFIZ, National Academy of Theater and Film Arts], and he is also a writer. He wrote five or six books, most of them on communist topics. He has two sisters, Penka and Vesselina, and a brother, Iliya. The fact that my husband was of different faith has never bothered me. The times were such that we didn't pay much attention to these things. As a student I had one or two Jewish 'candidates'. The first one was older than I was and my relatives had introduced me to him. He was some very distant relative of mine. There was another one from Plovdiv, of whom I remember only that his name was Yosif. He wooed me, used to take me to theater performances, but I was in love with a Serb. This, of course, happened before I got married. Once we met the Serb on our way to the theater. I put off Yosif, hoping that the Serb would like me. Nothing like that happened. I had another worshipper from Bourgas. I was still a student and he was five years older than I was. I must have felt flattered that he wooed me. We used to write letters to each other, but frankly speaking I didn't have any feelings for him whatsoever. Once he tried to kiss me, which disgusted me and I washed myself with water and something else, I cannot remember what. It was so repulsive! I was still a young girl after all! I don't know how I fell in love with my future husband, but it happened so. I didn't have any love affairs, only him.