Rasa
ID: What are your most vivid memories from your childhood and teenage years?
RB: I had a very happy childhood. My parents experienced difficult years as refugees in Germany and Italy, but to me these years bring back memories of beautiful walks, mushrooming excursions, fast moving rivers, placid lakes and, of course, bombed out buildings. I was six years old when I arrived in Australia and moved to the Bathurst Migrant camp. Probably the saddest memory from Bathurst was my mothers illness and her stay in hospital. To me, as a six-year-old girl, it seemed that she was away for six months, but I now know that it was only a few weeks.
ID: As a teenager did you belong to the scout movement or any other youth organisation?
RB: I joined the scout movement when I was eleven years old. By then we had moved from country Sale to Melbourne. Scouting activities became an important part in my life. At the age of 13 - 14 I joined the Lithuanian folk dancing group in Melbourne. Even though I was the youngest one in a group of considerably older dancers, I fitted in well. Algis Karpavičius was the leader and choreographer of our group. I remember well the many times we performed at Lithuanian and Australian festivals and on TV. When Mr Karpavičius moved to Geelong, the folk dancing group disbanded. As I was a keen dancer, I helped in the formation of a new group a few years later. This actually happened when I was already studying architecture at Melbourne University. I decided to do this after attending a Lithuanian Student convention in Adelaide in which our involvement in community activities was encouraged.
ID: How did you learn to speak and to write Lithuanian so well? As a language teacher I know how difficult it is to learn Lithuanian. It is an Indo - European language that has preserved many features no longer in use in other Indo - European languages like English, French or German. The inflection of seven cases in singular and plural of nouns, adjectives, pronouns and numerals, is but one example.
RB: I learned Lithuanian from my parents. I suppose, like most children of my generation I spoke with my parents in Lithuanian. Most importantly, however, our daily bed time stories were all in Lithuanian. At that time, not many Lithuanian childrens books were available in Australia. My mother spoke German and was a French teacher by profession and would translate from German, French and sometimes English story-book authors. So her sources were varied and we were never short of new and exciting material. After our arrival in Melbourne I started learning the language at the Lithuanian Parish Sunday School. I found the atmosphere rather daunting and attended lessons sporadically. Then a new school was organised for dissatisfied students and I attended it until I left Primary School.
ID: You certainly acquired a new language proficiently, but perhaps not always very comfortably. Where did you go to high school?
RB: In Melbourne I attended the Santa Maria College run by the Samaritan Sisters for two years - until I had to leave for lack of communication. Then I went to the Catholic Ladies College administered by the Charity Sisters where I completed my secondary education. I was very sports-minded and became the college champion runner. Unfortunately sporting activities were underplayed at school and in my family. So, in my final year at College, I used my creative ability and won the Paraclete Art Show organised by the Catholic Schools in Victoria. My strongest subjects were Art and Geography at college. I received honours in both subjects at matriculation and as a result received a Commonwealth Scholarship to study at university.
ID: Why did you choose to study architecture? Were you attracted to it because it combines and blends artistic and technological disciplines? The artistic vein runs quite deeply in your family - your mother is a writer your daughter Elytė is an artist and teaching art at secondary level.
RB: I chose architecture because at that time it was the only course at university that had practical art courses and I was set against teaching, because I felt that there were too many teachers already in my family. In hindsight I think I probably made a mistake. At Melbourne University I joined the Lithuanian Students group and was elected to the committee. At the same time I was still active in the scouting movement. It gave me a great satisfaction to meet people and to retain friendships made in the course of these activities.
Joe and Rasa
RB: I married Joe on the 25th of October, 1968. At that time he was a Midshipman in the Royal Australian Navy. When I married into the Navy, I was aware that separations were a fact of life and I chose to accept this condition. What I had to learn, though, that it was a very lonely life. We did, however, travel together and went to live in Papua New Guinea for a couple of years. The three children came with us and it was a most fascinating family life for all of us. We also went to England for three years. The children benefited from their stay overseas. They also got to know their Dutch heritage roots in Holland.
ID: How was your life when you came back to Australia?
RB: When we returned to Sydney our three children Peter, Elyte and Rasa were asked to join the folk dancing group run by Marina Cox. It was the parents who brought these children to folk dancing and who started the so-called Veterans group that my husband and I joined and, in due course, I also administered. Jonas Biretas taught this group for about ten years. When he retired, I took over the teaching until I also retired. Our children were born in 1970 (Peter), 1972 (Elytė) and in 1974 (Rasa). I stopped working when my children were born and stayed out of work until Rasa, the youngest, went to high school. I did try, at times, to get architectural work, but my short times in any one place were a hindrance to stable employment. In fact, this was one of the minus sides to being married into the Navy. By the time our son Peter was in year 8, he was at his 8th school. The girls had also to change schools quite often. It was for this reason that Joe decided to leave the Navy, though he continued, with minor interruptions, to work in Defence related industries. He was asked back to the Navy some years ago and now works in the Defence Department. His present position is Director of Amphibious and Afloat Support Systems Project Office, Defence Material Organization, Department of Defence. From the young Midshipman that I married, my husband has risen to the rank of Lieutenant Commander Joseph Blansjaar PWO C Int. JE. RANR. What a mouthful that is!
Rasas children: Elytė (left), Rasa Jnr, Peter
RB: Yes. We joined the choir because Joe has a fine 2nd Tenor/Baritone voice and he enjoys singing. I always enjoyed Lithuanian folk signing, so it seemed a fun way to combine activities. I do not have a good signing voice, but can easily manage alto parts. Joe belongs to "The Kur-in-gai Male Voice" choir and cantors at our local church. I do not get the same satisfaction from singing that he does, but I do enjoy other Thespian pursuits.
ID: What are they?
RB: As a young person I was often asked to perform at various commemoration concerts and ceremonies, I learned many poems as a result. Later I was asked to take part in various Lithuanian plays staged by the Sydney Lithuanian theatre "Atžala". Although I liked acting in plays, I cannot truthfully say that I was a "brilliant" actress. However, I did and enjoyed producing plays and took pride in the production of a couple of pageants that involved the choir and the folk dancing group. They were Jonines (St. Johns Night) and a Lithuanian Wedding. For these pageants I wrote the scripts, did the rehearsals, the planning, set designs and with Joes practical advice and help learned set building. I also took the role of commentator in the shows. I also organised two Lithuanian folk dancing festivals in Sydney and enjoyed staging them.
ID: It seems to me that you were also involved in the Sydney Lithuanian Community Committee. You were elected to be the vice-chairperson and a deputy to the Lietuvių Dienų Taryba last year in Melbourne? Would you like to comment?
RB: Yes, indeed. I was always interested in helping my community.
ID: What hobbies do you pursue and what goals would you like to attain in the future?
RB: I enjoy gardening, bush camping, reading, knitting, the company of small children (perhaps I should have been a Primary School teacher?). I also enjoy the opera, theatre and photography as a hobby. I get occasionally the urge to make something or to paint and draw. However, I realise that my skills in these fields seem to be lessening. What do I still want to achieve? I have to improve my computer skills and there are still places in the world that I wish to visit and to discover.
ID: Thank you, Rasa, for your interesting interview.
Isolde Poželaitė - Davis AM
Sydney, 20.08.2005