Adela Hinkova at the Jewish school

Here I?m in the second grade. The photo was taken in 1927 in Vidin. That was my first year in the second grade, because I had to repeat the grade later. Our teacher was Neti, I?m in front of her. The Jewish school had four grades, and I studied five years. When I was in the second grade my brother went down with mumps. So, I was under quarantine for three weeks. Then my mother also caught it and our teacher in Ivrit, who was also the school headmaster, decided that I should repeat the year. We didn't have any textbooks and I couldn't catch up with the studies at home. I was happy when I received a 'good' [four out of six] as a grade. I studied a lot, because I had to repeat the grade. Once the teacher asked me to read aloud and I said, 'Please, wait for me to take my pencil.' I had the habit of underlining what I read in order to avoid making mistakes. The children laughed at me saying, 'Are you reading with your mouth or with the pencil?'