I had never had a chance to go to school in Europe but I had managed to learn how to read and write while in hiding. At first I was sent to the Jewish Peretz School. There were no ESL (English as a Second Language) classes at the time. I only lasted one week at that school because the teacher spoke Yiddish, not French or German. I didn't think that I was going to learn anything at that school and I was in such a hurry to learn. Mr. Satanov took me to Maple Grove School in Kerrisdale, where I was very fortunate to have a teacher named Miss Mowatt who gave me a small French-English dictionary. I'll never forget it. She's the one who gave me a love for literature and music. She took the time and did a lot for me when I most needed it. She also suggested that I change my name from Mariette to Marie in order to be more Canadian. She understood that I needed to hide who I was. She was a great teacher. I attended Hebrew school after school hours.