Monologue

(Starts by taking a sip of wine) Yes, so I was born and grew up in Queens
Village, in, uh, Queens, New York as Elizabeth Stillwell Austin, Im now Elizabeth
Austin Kochar. (Seems to be thinking back on life) My mother was a farmer's daughter
who grew up in rural New York, in St. Lawrence County, and she came from a long line
of teachers, and she herself was a french teacher. My father worked for an automobile
financing company, (glances at audience) what is now called CIT, I think. (Takes
another sip of wine) When I was young, I think life was much, much simpler, and there
was more of a focus on family, know what I mean? When I was girl, we had dinner at
home every night, we walked to school, as both of my schools were within a mile. We
walked to and from church, we always went to the 11 oclock service on Sunday
mornings, and we went to my fathers parents house for supper on Sundays after
church. I went through the brownies and girl scouts, was part of the young people's
society, and we almost always watched tv as family. There were mostly family shows
on TV, as I grew up in 50s. Also, the speed limit has definitely gone up, it used to be
that 55 mph was the max, and now its 70! (Pauses for a moment and takes another
sip of wine) When I was in high school, I was very shy and had low self esteem and I
didnt really have a sense of self or identity. I felt like I was lacking and I didnt know
what to do about these worries and I didnt get help from family. I was very focused
on my grades, it was the only thing that I could accel at. (Fiddles with towel over
shoulder) Now, I met my husband, who was from India, in college. I was an undergrad
at Albany State in New York, and he was a graduate studying at RPI. He was shy but

we talked about our studies, and he told me that he was studying chemical
engineering and I immediately said I dont think we have anything in common.
(Smiles to myself and sips wine) Soon after we were married, we moved to India and
it was a huge culture shock! Indian culture is so different from American culture, its like
night and day! I had known about culture from my husband and his sister, but what,
uh, mitigated the experience was the wonderful family I married into. They were
understanding and welcoming, and I had learned a bit of Hindi, so I could speak a little
with my mother-in-law, who was wonderful and welcoming, and that helped me
overcome the culture shock. (Sips wine for some time) After my husband died, I was
very fortunate because I was living in a 2 family house with my sister-in-law and she
continued to live there and helped me to raise my 2 daughters. She helped a lot, shes
my best friend, and I leaned on her lot. I also moved back to India as I wanted my
daughters to have a good experience in high school, and the New York City public high
schools werent that good, so I wanted them to have the opportunity to go to the
American school in New Delhi. (Sips more wine) I was a french teacher, and I also
taught elementary school. When I moved back to India, I taught french at the
American school. I moved back to the US, when my daughters were ready for college,
to Saranac Lake, where I worked for a brief time at Cornell Cooperative Extension, and
then I worked at the Adult Center and then retired from there! (Smiles at audience)
Personally, I believe that the transformation of my personality was my greatest
accomplishment. It was really big for me as I came from a reserved family where we
didnt talk about our feelings. I knew there was something more to life and I wanted a

more fulfilled life, where I could be my own person, and I did that! Better late than
never!