Читать книгу Westward. Encounters with Swiss American Women онлайн

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Then once more, Ellen looks back farther in her past. “When I arrived in America, the women here seemed different from those in Switzerland. They did what they wanted, were more independent. But they did not have much power. And it seemed they had only little political interest. In America political topics were not publicly discussed. That was somehow taboo at any rate among the people with whom we lived. This only changed in the 1960s.”

Ellen is tired. “My lava flows more slowly – though I really was a volcano. I never felt fear. My life probably was somewhat more colorful than the lives of others. Life is a spider’s web. Events surface which I had not considered for a long time. Thus there is sufficient material for me to digest. I have no regrets. Of course, there are things that I could have done better. But at the time I did the best I could, I did what I felt was right and necessary.”

Does she feel her age? “Yes. David and I are old. We only travel in our minds nowadays. Many of our friends are living in senior’s residences. For David, that would not be good. He wants to stay where his books are, he would not be able to part with them. He writes much, philosophical books and political letters to the editor of the local newspapers. The corruption in his home country worries him, yet from a distance he sees the difficulties there a bit less. Africans have a dense social network, here and throughout the world, this is good. David is highly educated and wise. And I like living with him.