Posted on June 21, 2010 - by admin

Romanian Proverbs

Erzsebet, who helps us twice a month in the home recently bought us a gift; a book of Romanian Proverbs.  I thought I would share some of the more interesting one’s periodically.  Here’s the first…in English and in Romanian.

“In time, raindrops will bore holes in rocks, and even a poor rope cuts marble.”

“Picatura ploii piatra gaureste, si funia de tei, cu vreme, marmurile despica.”

I don’t want to comment too much on how these proverbs play into the culture here, but this one is especially interesting because Romanians have the tendency to be fatalistic and deterministic…with a touch of not being driven by time.  So, the idea I take from this proverb is that efficiency is not king…as it is in many western cultures.  The work will get done sooner or later…no need to push too hard.  What’s the rush?