1963-1972 – Greece – Iran – Pakistan – United States

– Greece –

After high school I decided to take some time off and went to Greece to visit my sister who was living and working in Athens. Through some friends of hers, I ended up being part of a group of bohemian actors, composers, writers and famous people. We would go out to listen to music and dance or sit at cafes and have interesting intellectual conversations. Everyone was much older than me, a naive 17 years old, but they all adopted me with kindness and I thoroughly enjoyed the stimulating conversations. Once, I met and had dinner with Shirley MacLaine and another time with Francis Coppola. In this picture I am with the brother of Karamanlis, the Greek Prime Minister at the time. 

 Eventually I decided to stay in Greece. First, I  got a job working with a travel agency as a guide which allowed me to travel throughout the beautiful ancient sites of Greece. After, I worked for the John S. Latsis group of companies and when the Belgian Congo opened an embassy in Greece I went to work there. For some reason, when I went for an interview I thought they spoke English and when they started speaking in French I tried to excuse myself as my French was not that good at the time but when they found out the date of my birth they ended up hiring me right away as they said ‘Sagittarius people are good people’. I had a lot of fun at the embassy. The delegates were like children in a toy shop. They were fascinated by gadgets, like multicolored pens and liked to play with the lights on their doors, red for ‘busy’ or green for ‘free-enter’ – and as an extra bonus I became fluent in French.

 Shortly after our wedding we moved to Tehran, Iran. I loved it there at the time. People were very nice and friendly. I had fun working at the General Tires factory translating for the Brazilian managing team that worked there. I loved the food and learned how to eat sitting on the floor, dipping my fingers in raw egg to allow the rice to stick as we ate without utensils when visiting the local families. 

 I became pregnant in Tehran with our first child, Alex. He was born in Athens, Greece on November 24, 1967. By the way, I also learned how to pee standing up balancing a big belly when visiting the local gynecologist who had just a hole on the tiled floor in his bathroom!

Funny thing, everyone there thpight I looked like Farah Diba, the Shah’s wife. Do you see a resemblance?

– Pakistan –

We moved to Karachi, Pakistan at the end of 1967. Things were different there. We lived in a huge mansion with many servants. Imagine a 21 year old girl arriving at her home in this new country and a row of servants standing in line by the front door bowing and saying ‘Welcome Ma’m Saab’. It was a bit like Downton Abbey. There was a Butler who always wore beautiful silk jackets and turbans. He was the one who ran the household and gave the orders to the other servants. A wonderful cook who had worked for the American Embassy. He was a short guy who had to stand on a stool in front of the stove in order to cook. He cooked fantastic meals, not only delicious but also beautiful works of art in presentation. People loved to come to our dinner gatherings. The cook had an assistant, who did the chopping and cleaning, then there was a guy who did all the dusting, sweeping and washing the marble floors, etc.; another guy did the laundry and ironing; two guards, a day one and a night one; a driver (we were not allowed to drive) and the only woman, the Aya (or Nanny). With the exception of the Aya, who slept in the nursery, they all lived in the servant quarters. They were grateful to have a home and food and the little money they were paid with was sent to their families in their villages.

– United States –

In 1968 Doug was called back to General Tires headquarter is Akron, Ohio. We lived in Cuyahoga Falls. Our daughter Annemarie was born there on May 23, 1970.

Having said that I was always in the right place at the right time, I have to say that I consider Akron, Ohio the parenthesis of my life. On the positive side, I had two small children and I loved being a stay at home Mom with them.

Doug did not like living and working in the United States. He wanted to go back to the Middle East or Africa. He quit his job and left to go somewhere in Africa. I did not want to go there with two small children who were getting to be school age. We got divorced in 1972 and I went back to live in Greece.