Andrei Mihai P.
by Doina D.
Name: Andrei-Mihai P.
Sex: male
Place of birth: Timisoara
Place of residence: Timisoara
Nationality: Romanian
Ethnic group: Hungarian
Back then
In which year were you born?
1935, on the 9th of July
Please briefly describe living circumstances in your childhood
I grew up in my grandfather's family home (on my mother's side), located in the Fabric neighborhood of Timisoara. I lived with my parents and grandmother. I did not know my grandfather, he had died in 1928. From this home, I attended elementary school, secondary education and the Faculty of Civil Engineering in Timisoara.
Please briefly describe living circumstances from your teenage up to your retirement
I lived in satisfactory conditions. Events that I can remember were the bombings of 1944, without causing any damage to my home. In 1958, I graduated the faculty in the frame of Polytechnic University of Timisoara, then in 1984 I became doctor engineer. I obtained the title of European engineer (EurIng) in 1998. At the Faculty of Constructions in Timisoara, I trained future specialists in the disciplines of engineering geology, geotechnics, special foundations and terrestrial communications taught in German.
What was the position of elderly persons when you were young?
When I was a child, in the house where I lived, my grandmother had a German-speaking kindergarten. Here I learned this language very easy and that helped me in the future, in my activity. I also taught at foreign universities, at the Technische Universitat, Institut fur Bodenmechanik und Grundbau in Graz; Technische Universitat, Institut fur Strassenbau und Strassenerhaltung in Viena; Technische Universitat - Munchen, Technische Hochschule - Konstanz.
Please describe intergenerational liaisons in your family
I only had help from my parents and grandmother. I didn't live with my wife's parents, and I didn't have to take care of them.
Nowadays
Please compare what were you thinking about old age when you were young, your expectation of your life in retirement, and how it is really now. What does retirement mean for you?
During my childhood, I had no opinion about old age. After retirement I enjoy more free time, I do not feel moments of loneliness or marginalization or that I was left without friends. I had the opportunity to travel more in the country with friends and acquaintances, as well as abroad where I made friends with other people. I retired at the age of 60.
Please briefly describe living circumstances in your current life
I live with my wife, but not with my child. The pension is sufficient for a decent living. Health is not as at a young age, periodically I visit medical facilities and consume many kinds of medicines. Communication with the child, with friends from countries and abroad, now during the pandemic is done through electronic technology.
Please describe your daily routines in present
I haven`t yet grandchildren. Before the pandemic, I went weekly to concerts, sometimes to the theater or opera. Being more active in my job as a hydrotechnical engineer and university professor, already before retirement and currently participating in literary circles, I have published articles in many literary magazines, translated poems by some Romanian-language authors in a German language and published a volume.
Which media you consume in everyday life (TV, radio, newspapers); what new technologies do you use (Internet, computers, smart-phones)
I read the newspapers, I listen to the radio and the television. I use the new electronic technologies (internet, computer) that I learned from the younger generation, from the students, of whom I was a teacher, but they were also professors in this new field of communication.
What motivates you or can motivate you?
The ones in the previous point keep my mental activity normal.
What are the major roles of retired persons?
The role of retired people is to transmit from time to time, either personally to meetings or online about how they worked, and the difficulties they had and how they recommend improving the way of working in the specialties.
What would be your message for the younger generations?
For the younger generation, the message is to be better in the way of working, methods and creativity. This is the core of the progress and development of society.
What is your opinion about about Europe?
Europe is a continent with many nationalities and we must understand each other, to have peace and understanding, a harmonious balance from all points of view.
Questions specifically for Romania:
Which traditional customs do you still keep in your family?
I kept the traditional Romanian customs for the celebration of Christmas and the Resurrection of the Lord.
Did you go through a painful experience caused by the communist regime (persecution, deportation, nationalization, etc.)? How did you manage to overcome that difficult time?
This was not the case.
What are the values that guided you throughout life and that you want to transfer to the next generations?
I recommend to carry their activity, with great pleasure. To choose the profession without being guided or obliged by other people. To love the profession in the way that they can achieve remarkable results without difficulty.