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Frere Bernar was my first favorite teacher. We liked him not only because he was very clever and well-read. I will never forget how he told us that all people from all parts of the world and of every nationality, race and faith are all God’s children. He also told us that we all had to live in peace, understanding and love. And he said such things when half of Europe was awash with green uniforms and flags with swastikas. His own homeland, France, had already been run over by foreign tanks, the ones we could also see in Bulgaria. But the words of the Franciscan monk showed no anger or spite. I will never forget how he explained to us what slander was. He said, ‘Imagine holding a pillow and going up to the roof of your house. And there, in anger, you decide to tear it apart. Then, naturally, the wind will disperse it. But soon you will feel remorse and you’ll realize that you’ve done something wrong. And you’ll want to gather back everything that’s been dispersed. But will you be able to do it?’
My class in the French College was international and I liked that. There were Bulgarians, Armenians, Russians, and Jews. I was friendly with everybody. But my best friends at that time were Pepo Arie, his brother Filko Arie, and Bati Rozales, who immigrated to Argentina a long time ago. [Judging by the family names these friends were Jews.] We played on three accordions together. Bati was a piano student of Pancho Vladigerov. A wonderful musician! And Pepo, who went to live in Israel, became chief musical director of the national Israeli radio ‘Kol Israel’ [Hebrew for The Voice of Israel]. By the way, at that time we were all members of UYSU: the United Youth Students’ Union. That was a youth union, in which we discussed art, went on excursions, listened to lectures, etc. We were also UYW [14] members. But at that time we weren’t interested in politics, we were idealists.
My other favorite teacher was Mr. Tsviatko Veselinov, who taught us Bulgarian. I still remember his slender figure. He was the only one with civil clothes among the ‘freres’ who all wore cassocks. I also remember how much he loved his students. There were some teachers, whose aim in life was to prepare their students in the best way. And he was one of them. Thanks to him I grew to love the Bulgarian language and culture. One day during a lesson, Mr. Veselinov asked me to go to the front of the class and asked me a question, which I must have answered well, because he kissed me on the head and said to the class, ‘Have a look at him! He’s been here for a couple of months and already knows Bulgarian!’ Those words made me very proud.
My class in the French College was international and I liked that. There were Bulgarians, Armenians, Russians, and Jews. I was friendly with everybody. But my best friends at that time were Pepo Arie, his brother Filko Arie, and Bati Rozales, who immigrated to Argentina a long time ago. [Judging by the family names these friends were Jews.] We played on three accordions together. Bati was a piano student of Pancho Vladigerov. A wonderful musician! And Pepo, who went to live in Israel, became chief musical director of the national Israeli radio ‘Kol Israel’ [Hebrew for The Voice of Israel]. By the way, at that time we were all members of UYSU: the United Youth Students’ Union. That was a youth union, in which we discussed art, went on excursions, listened to lectures, etc. We were also UYW [14] members. But at that time we weren’t interested in politics, we were idealists.
My other favorite teacher was Mr. Tsviatko Veselinov, who taught us Bulgarian. I still remember his slender figure. He was the only one with civil clothes among the ‘freres’ who all wore cassocks. I also remember how much he loved his students. There were some teachers, whose aim in life was to prepare their students in the best way. And he was one of them. Thanks to him I grew to love the Bulgarian language and culture. One day during a lesson, Mr. Veselinov asked me to go to the front of the class and asked me a question, which I must have answered well, because he kissed me on the head and said to the class, ‘Have a look at him! He’s been here for a couple of months and already knows Bulgarian!’ Those words made me very proud.
Location
Bulgaria
Interview
Jul Efraim Levi