“At the time, there was no airplane. I came on board ship.”
Roz hoped she would be going to school in New York. She knew about New York and San Francisco, as her family was very westernized. Both her uncle and father had graduated from Harvard in 1919, 1923, respectively. This was at a time when Harvard had only a couple of thousand students, a handful of whom were Chinese.
Roz hoped she would be going to school in New York. She knew about New York and San Francisco, as her family was very westernized. Both her uncle and father had graduated from Harvard in 1919, 1923, respectively. This was at a time when Harvard had only a couple of thousand students, a handful of whom were Chinese.
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| McTyeire Girls School--Later known as Shanghai No. 3 Girls School |
When Roz was little, her father read her Shakespeare. He also enrolled her in McTyeire, an elite Methodist missionary girls’ school reserved only for the daughters of the top echelon of China. Students included the Soong sisters who later went on to become Madame Sun-Yat-Sen and Madame Chiang Kai-Shek and the wealthy Madame Kung. In 1938, the Japanese occupied Shanghai. Everyday, Roz had to travel past Japanese soldiers standing guard in front of the un-occupied French Concession, which was a narrow collar of land that had been conceded to the French in 1849. The Concession was also where Roz's home was. She had to get off her bike and bow to the soldier before moving on.
"We tried not to go past them, and took the long way around to home."
A Japanese officer came to McTyeire to teach the girls Japanese. Roz and her friends, too young to think of danger, refused to listen, instead giggling at his efforts. He often banged his sword on the desk and yelled at them in Japanese.
“We didn’t know Japanese. We didn’t know what he was talking about. We were all teenage girls, spoiled rotten.”
Roz’s family had more than most—a chauffeur who drove her around, a cook who refused to let her in the kitchen, and a maid.
1n 1947, when Roz graduated from high school, and her father and brother told her she was going to the U.S. Roz had her sights set high. But she soon discovered they had enrolled her in Mills College.
“It was a conspiracy.” She laughed. “They decided I could not be let loose to go to a co-ed school.”
Her brother brought her out. They rode in two taxis, one of which carried all of her trunks. When she arrived at her private room, though, she didn’t know what to do. “I didn’t know how to unpack all the stuff. It was a bad experience. I didn’t know how to do anything. Why should I have to know how to do anything? I wanted to do other things. Go to work and make money. Be a boss.”
“We didn’t know Japanese. We didn’t know what he was talking about. We were all teenage girls, spoiled rotten.”
Roz’s family had more than most—a chauffeur who drove her around, a cook who refused to let her in the kitchen, and a maid.
1n 1947, when Roz graduated from high school, and her father and brother told her she was going to the U.S. Roz had her sights set high. But she soon discovered they had enrolled her in Mills College.
“It was a conspiracy.” She laughed. “They decided I could not be let loose to go to a co-ed school.”
Her brother brought her out. They rode in two taxis, one of which carried all of her trunks. When she arrived at her private room, though, she didn’t know what to do. “I didn’t know how to unpack all the stuff. It was a bad experience. I didn’t know how to do anything. Why should I have to know how to do anything? I wanted to do other things. Go to work and make money. Be a boss.”
In addition to this initial logistical crisis, Roz resented the unfair rules at Mill’s College. “I couldn’t go out without a male escort. I had to come back by 10 o’clock at night. I hated it.”
Most importantly, she was unimpressed with the curriculum. “Finishing school you have to behave a certain way: pour tea and make conversation. I wanted to run away from that.”
(Mills College was founded in 1852 as a seminary school for young ladies. Today, according to U.S. News and World Report, the women's college is ranked 5th best in the Western Region.)
In 1949, Roz's parents moved to Taiwan to escape the Civil War in China. They wanted her to come live with them. But, she decided to stay in California, and transferred to U.C. Berkeley where she got a degree in Economics.
In non-traditional fashion, Roz also chose her own husband. “I met him on Market street,” she said of Karlson Koo. “We were never introduced.” They were married for fifty years.
After staying home a bit to raise her two daughters, Roz worked at a number of secretarial jobs (PR Dept of United Way, Legal Dept of a trucking company, UC Berkeley’s Psychology Clinic.) She eventually joined an architectural firm in San Francisco where she worked for 18 years..
Most importantly, she was unimpressed with the curriculum. “Finishing school you have to behave a certain way: pour tea and make conversation. I wanted to run away from that.”
(Mills College was founded in 1852 as a seminary school for young ladies. Today, according to U.S. News and World Report, the women's college is ranked 5th best in the Western Region.)
In 1949, Roz's parents moved to Taiwan to escape the Civil War in China. They wanted her to come live with them. But, she decided to stay in California, and transferred to U.C. Berkeley where she got a degree in Economics.
In non-traditional fashion, Roz also chose her own husband. “I met him on Market street,” she said of Karlson Koo. “We were never introduced.” They were married for fifty years.
After staying home a bit to raise her two daughters, Roz worked at a number of secretarial jobs (PR Dept of United Way, Legal Dept of a trucking company, UC Berkeley’s Psychology Clinic.) She eventually joined an architectural firm in San Francisco where she worked for 18 years..
“I’m not an architect, but I can run anything. I said, ‘I’m very good. In six months I will fix whatever is bothering you. I don’t know what it is, but I’ll fix it.’”
(...to be continued. Next: Roz Returns to Unrecognizable China)
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