Women's Portraits

Marija

Marija is 73 years old. She was born and grew up in Lithuania, Šakių area. She lives in Kaunas most of her time.  Marija’s father was a forester, and her mother – a housewife.  Father died in 1944 during the Second World War, forced to the labor in Germany.  Family lost the property and after that moved to Kaunas.  Marija and her brother remembers that their mother was often upset and unhappy , it was difficult for her to feed two kids living without a husband in a difficult after war period....

One of the strongest childhood memories is associated with her brother:  Marija remembers the great flood in 1946 during which her younger brother breaked into the ice of the river Nemunas in Kaunas. Marija crawled on the river’s ice closer and handed him a stick and pulled her brother to the shore and saved him a life.

Marija is not married and has no her own family. The most memorable time is when she defended her doctoral theses of chemistry in 1981, than her mother’s and brother's deaths, the Baltic Way, the declaration of Independence of Lithuania in 1990.

The period between 40-60 years old she considers the most active and interesting in her life - Marija worked, took part in social activities, made trips and concerts with a folk ensemble, she enjoyed friendship and love.

Lithuanian women during the Soviet time retired at the age of 55, at that age Marija became a pensioner ( it was in 1993), but still was working at the same job Lithuanian Food Institute as a Senior Researcher till she became 60 years old. 

In 1998 she stopped working.  It was the right time to care about her household, for which she never had time, when still was working.  The roof of her house was in a bad condition and she decided to renovate it. It took a lot of work and financial resources.  Marija borrowed 10 thousand litas to finish the roof renovation.

At that time rapidly increased prices for apartment living and maintenance costs, it became clear for her that she will not give back her debt from the retirement savings until the end of her life.

In 2002, at the beginning of the year, Marija made a decision to go for the work to America.  She went to Chicago, and stayed at her old friends. Soon she found a job through the employment agency, and started working  as a nurse about 150 km. from the town.

She was working very hard during the ten-month period, caring for three seriously ill ladies. She often had only two free days per month. During the free time she tried to see as much as possible.  It was unforgetable time, when she sat into the train and went to Chicago, where visited all main city’s Museums: American Art, Chicago Art, aquarium, Astronomy, Adler Planetarium, Science and Technology, Natural History Museums.  She visited the Indian village, travelled by the boat on Wisconsin river.

Now Marija remembers the time in America with a big pleasure, she thinks that there were so many interesting experiences in America, that it would be sufficient for two lives. She came back to Lithuania, returned the debt for the roof repairs and even left money for her other needs.

Now Marija lives the active life style. She meets with interesting people, visits art exhibitions, literary evenings, concerts and performances, likes the theater. Once a week, she participates in a musical folk group, where she meets with her former colleagues.

Already for 10 years, she is helping the young single mummy to maintain two small children, who call Marija a second grandmother.

Marija doesn’t like computers and new technologies.  She likes better to read, her favorite authors are Victor Franklin, Erich FROM, Karen Horney, Marcus Aurelius, Hermann Hesse.

Marija has many plans for the future: to participate in the folk music ensemble, interact with interesting people, moreover, to visit her friends in St. Petersburg.  She looks at the death as a continuation of life, the inevitable transformation of the spirit of immortality triumph. She is happy, although some periods of life were heavy.

Dana Urbanaitė