Beth Arman

1953: I was born in Lausanne, Switzerland, where my American parents attended the Medical School and trained to practice medicine on their return to the US. My father, Ernest Heimlich, was a professor of Allergetics and Pediactrics at UCLA in the '60s. My mother, Miriam Gelprin Heimlich, worked at Kaiser-Permanenty Hospital as an MD, of Obstetrics and Gynocology.

1965-71: I attended Hollywood High School, before my family returned to Switzerland. I finished my senior year of American High School at the International School, in Geneva. (diploma, 1971)

1971-2: I returned to California and completed my freshman year of college at University of California, Santa Cruz.

1972: My father became seriously ill, after an accident. I returned to Switzerland to help my mother and younger sister. I worked as an occupational therapist-aid at the Geriatric Hospital in Geneva, Switzerland.

1973-4: I attended Emerson College in Sussex, England, where I met my Swedish husband. He and I attended the same course in organic agriculture. I had become interested in a system of organic farming, the biodynamic method. I had been introduced to the practic of this biological method of agriculture while working on the Farm Project at UC Santa Cruz. At their Garden Project, a hands-on botany classroom, I had worked with a British agriculturist and botanist, Alan Chadwick.

1975-80: I moved to Stockholm and married my husband. We leased two farms which we ran biodynamicaly. The first farm was in Skåne, the southern province of Sweden, and the second was in Järna, near Stockholm.

1982-3: I returned to California, with my husband and our two children, to attend the Waldorf teaching program at Rudolf Steiner College. Unfortunately, I had no success in finding a position as language teacher in the Waldorf community, as the Waldorf schools in California were interested in teachers of Spanish and German.

1985: I completed Medical Assistant training at the Adult Education section of the local Community College. Subjects of study included Medical Terminology and basic Anatomy, in preparation for secretarial work in a medical office.

We started a biodynamic project in Yolo County, in a district of the Sacramento Valley. We started this project together with a group whose interest was to establish organic farming methods for large organic farms in that particular agricultual environment. However, I was not actively involved in the farm-work.

1986: I returned with my family to Sweden because my husband suffered from his first ulcer and he needed surgical help which we couldn't afford in the US. Our Swedish Medical Insurance took us back to Stockholm.

1987: I took a job for a man who was physically handicapped and couldn't talk. I worked mainly as his interpreter. He had to be hospitalized for a long period, due to his illness; so I continued to work with handicapped people who had communication problems. I worked at a residential long-term treatment home for the hadicapped.

1991: My third child was born, and I suffered from slipped-disks during the pregnancy and after the birth. The slipped disks were probably a result of injuries I received from an accident on the farm, and one during my last pregnancy. It becamse obvious that I could not return to the occupations I had earlier, which required heavy physical exertion.

!995: I began studying at Stockholm's University, working toward certification as a Gymnasium teacher of English and French.

1997: Completed an Master's Thesis in English, "Fördjupningskurs, 80p" at the English Department of Stockholm's University.

1998: I taught English part-time at Telgegymnasitet, Södertälje. Reference: Jenny Strömberg, rector: 08-550-215.40

1999: Completed a Bachelor of Art, English major, and Literature Studies in Swedish, French and English, "Filosofie Kandidatexamen, 120 p" at the Stockholm's University.

1999-; I presently study part-time at the French Institute of Stockholm´s University.