MY HIGHER EDUCATION

I have had a lot of ideas, what to do after college. I was thinking about something artistic like interior designer, designer for clothes or first becoming a carpenter and later continue to a creative occupation. I also was thinking about to become a nurse. My parents did not like one of them, because for becoming interior designer I had to study art and draw pictures of naken models. My father was very against that. For designing clothes, I first was trying to become a seamstress and my mother told me, that it is not sure, that I will be able to design clothes. Her mother had been a seamstress and my mother itself had only been a needlewoman, because her mother did not have the money for my mothers education and though my mother told me, that it is not a job for a girl with a college examen. When I asked to become a nurse, she told me, that I may be mad, because nurses have to work nighttime as well.

Though I had to find something at an authority, because my parents told me, that it will be a good and save income. I heard about court clerks, there is in Germany a profession, where you kan advice people. I thought, that was an interesting job. Unfortunately there were only education possibilities in another county of Germany, not close to my home. Though my parents did not allow me to apply. Under a period I also was thinking about to become a teacher, but I thought I will not be allowed to study at a university with my grades. At the end I did attend an education at the Deutsche Bundespost – at that time the authority for mail and parcel traffic in Germany. Nowadays it is in private hands. Though I became a civil servant. There were four different levels, called the lower, the middle, the higher and the highest. My education was on the third level and would now be like qualified vocational training with a status of a Bachelor. For the highest level you must have studied at the university, e.g. law.

Our education was for three years. We had one or two days every week theory at the head quarter in Kassel and the rest of the time practice work. We had to start from the bottom: sort mail and parcels to the different destinations, walk with the postman, work as a counter clerk etc. We also had different courses at other places in our country. The first one was for six weeks, others for a month. Here we also met students from other parts of Germany. The courses were held in the South of Germany: Hanau (close to Frankfurt/M.) and Augsburg, Bavaria. At this courses we also made friends and I was validated as a woman by the male attendies. In Hanau two of them fell in love with me. They were living in the county of Rheinland-Palatinate, one of them in Trier. I was only interested in one of Trier, but we did not become a couple. The distance was too far, because he was from Saarbrücken and neither he nor I had money enough to see each other often. We actually had some income, though I could have my own little apartment with second-hand furniture and my living, but there were no money for travels.

I think I have to explain something here:
Before 1975, youth in the Federal Republic of Germany became adults at 21 years of age. By the “Law on the revision of the age of majority” of 31st July 1974, which entered into force on 1st January 1975, the age of majority was reduced to the age of 18 years (Source: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vollj%C3%A4hrigkeit). Therefore my parents could tell me, that I was not allowed to become an interior designer etc.

Anyway, when I had been out with friends a night in summer 1970 and came home very late a night, my father dit beat me, after I asked him, where I have been and I did not answer him. The following day I was moving out. Nobody could stop me. I only had a suitcase with me, when I moved in a little corridor room. I did rent it of a man, who owned some real estates and were renting out rooms. It was not in the best area of our town, but quite central. Unfortunately the tram was going throughout the street and the trams were going until late hours. I became used to it. For the rooms there was a pentry, where we could cook our meals. There were always lots of people in the queue to cook their meals. There were also a common bathroom. The neighbor next to me, a couple from India or Pakistan, did tell my landlord, that I had the music to loud instead telling me first. I really tried not to disturb, but the walls were very thin, though the owner offered me a room in another of his estates. There were only hookers living, though I declined. That landlord also tried to have sex with me, though I tried somewhere else to live and found that little 2-room-apartment with kitchen and shower. The rooms had a good size. The low price depended on the area and because it was an old house with a heater for oil. I had to go to the basement every second or third day to pick up oil in a special can for the heater. The oil was heavy and I had to bring it three floors up. There was no elevator. – Once my whole kitchen get black, because I did not know, how to manage such a heater and the soot became too much and puffed out. – My furniture was a low cabinet from home as well as my bed and my wardrobe. The cupboard in the kitchen I had got of one of my aunts. In the living room I had a simple couch, left of the former tenants. I do not remember, where I got the kitchen table, but it was used as well.

My mother did not like that I did move out, though I reconciled with her by a homemade cake from time to time, because she did not like to bake anything. I was visiting my parents around once a month.

I met with my friends at weekends. We were often going to a house, where young foreigners were living, mostly from Africa. The building belonged to a landlord, who made a lot of money with renting out rooms to foreigners. The standard was still very bad. One day, when we were there again and together with some of the foreigners, Mustafa asked me to become his girlfriend, even he had a girlfriend there. Though I asked him, what about her and he answered, that she is very young. Anyway I told him, that I am not interested in him. I became the girlfriend of another guy instead. His name was Gaston. He was a student from Kongo Kinshasa. He was studying agriculture, but he was very lazy, which I did not know at the beginning of our relationship. He also lost his room, if I remember right, because he did not pay his rent in time. I helped him to find another room, which was not easy, because he was African and many German did not like to house foreigners, especially not Africans at that time. I vouched for him. It was a very nice room. Unfortunately he did not hold contact with me after that. I had lent out a suitcase to him, while he was moving and was interested in to get it back. When I came to the place, where he was living now, I was told, that he had to move out, because he was not responsible and also had another girlfriend, which he had taken to the room overnight. The owners of the room did not know, where he had moved. I tried to find that out by the group I still sometimes met. One of the guy – I did not remember the name, told me, that he knows. Instead for telling me the address, he told me, he will drive me there. The day he did, became one of the very black days of my life, because he told me, he does not really remember the house, when he had droven around with me for a while and did take me to his apartment. I insisted, that I won’t be at his place, but find Gaston. Now this guy tried to rape me. He did take down my pants, but I did not let him into me. I run away as soon as possible. Another day, I found out the address of Gaston and visited him. I did get back my suitcase, but it was scraped. Gaston was now eking out a bare existence. There were no furnitures in the room.

Back to my education. To learn enough, we also had to make our practical education at different places. Though under some month I was going by train to Witzenhausen every working day. I had to leave my apartment at 5am to be in time at the train station. At that hour, there was no buses in my home town. I was walking and, of course, the shortest way. This shortcut was throughout a street, where the hookers were walking. I never have had any problems. Not only me where going by that early train to Witzenhausen. So also did a guy in my age. He was always so tired and slept on the train. Though I was helping him and shaked him awake in Witzenhausen (he had asked for it). Another time I let another learner – from my course – sleep at my home, because it was impossible for her to go back and forth the same day to her home, while she had to practice in Kassel. Unfortunately she did take her newly appointed boyfriend to my apartment, when I had to work late evening. He was still there, when I was back. I got angry about it, because she did not ask me before. There is a law in Germany – or was, that one can get laid out for coupe in such cases.

During the courses boys were interested in me. One I thought was honest, but he only tried to have sex with me. At another course, actually in Augsburg, another guy – from another course, tried to have sex with me as well. They made me drunk first by Coca Cola with too much rum. I did not see, how much rum they added. I get cuddly, when I am drank – therefore I did stop drinking even small amounts and especially did not drink anything, where I could not see how much alcohol it includes. Anyway this evening, I showed him, that I am very tired and he did not get sex with me, even I had followed him to his room (because I was drunk). He left the room very angry and I was soon going to my room. He was no longer interested in me, but that was another guy, who was earnest. We did made a trip together in the nearby town of Augsburg.

During these years I also got a boyfriend, which I new from a discotheque. I was going to discotheques off and on, but not very often. Usually I was going there with a girlfriend from primary school. Sometimes I was going there by my own, but I always was the “wallflower”. One evening I met Walter, my later husband and his little brother at such a place. There were no many people this evening and as Walter told me later, he told his brother, that he will mess around with me. It did not became that way. We met a lot of time at his parents apartment. His father was an engineer and earned a lot of money. If I remember right, he had his own company. It was hard to become accepted of his parents. Anyway they did after a while. His little brother chose an orphan and she was accepted easier as me. One of the evenings we were there, they offered orange juice with a little rum. I had seen how little they put in, though I did drink it, but I had to go and throw up afterwards. By the way, Walter was only 175 short and maybe that was the reason, why he always tried to be seen and to get power. When he had to choose education, he decided to try to become a policeman. He was accepted at the education.

In autumn of 1973 I have done my examen and was employed as a civil servant, but had to move to Wiesbaden. Even the education was held in the North of our county, they did need most of us in the South of our county. The authority offered an apartment to share for us newcomers. I had to share a room with a girl, who all the time ate apples. Furthermore she was very early to bed and very easy disturbed and get angry. How I managed that you can read about soon. Just follow me to MY YEARS AT WORK