Rachil Meitina with her sister Vera Meitina

This is an amateur photo of my sister Vera Meitina and me. It was taken by my father Alexandr Meitin when we spent our vacation in Shpili village near Vitebsk in 1934. My mother and father spent their vacation with the children at the dacha [cottage]. When we lived in Petrograd we rented a dacha on the bank of a lake somewhere in the suburb of Petrograd. We had a boat and went rowing on the lake. We often went to visit our parents' relatives in Vitebsk. In summer 1934 we stayed in Shpili near Vitebsk. I think now it's a suburb of Vitebsk. There were many apple orchards there. It was a lovely spot. I remember the sound of apples hitting the terrace of the house where we lived: sweet small Belarus apples. That summer the family of my future husband Isaac Verkhoski lived there, too. He is my second cousin. That was when I met him and we made friends, but many years passed before we got married. After finishing school I decided to continue studying sciences related to chemistry and biology. I could take a tram that turned left to university or another one that turned right to the College of Fine Chemical Technology. Both institutions weren't far from where I lived. The first tram that came to the stop was the one turning left, so I entered the Faculty of Biology of Moscow State University in 1936. I enjoyed studying there. My sister graduated in 1936 and got a [mandatory] job assignment at the Scientific Research Institute of Glass where she was involved in scientific development.