Lolita Leoni Gatlan

This picture was taken in 1931, when my sister Lolita Leoni Gatlan was just a few months old.

I only had one sister, Lolita, who was my elder by seven years and a half. I was born on 1st September 1938. So my sister was born in 1931, in February. I was born in Braila and I totally belong to this place.

We didn't have a nanny for a long time, she just stayed with us until we were nine or ten. When she left, I was still a child, and we were living on Galati Street. We also lived on Vasile Sasu Street, but not for long, and I don't remember when. I still know where the house is located, but what I distinctly remember is the other house, the one at 5 Galati Street - in the center of the town, close to the kindergarten and the clock.

Both our parents took care of our education. I couldn't say they told me what to read. I always read what I was required to read at school, so they didn't have to guide me. My parents didn't help me with my homework - I managed all by myself. I didn't have tutors either, like they have today. My sister and I were average pupils - we didn't excel in anything, but we never repeated a year.

In the beginning, my sister attended the Charity Nurses School - these were similar to today's pediatric nurses - after which she attended the Institute for Economical and Commerce Studies in Bucharest, as it was called in those days. After graduating, she became an economist and worked in Braila for quite a number of years. After her marriage, she worked in Craiova as well.