Archive for the ‘Romania’ Category

Posted on August 16, 2010 - by admin

No playing allowed.

The above picture is extremely humorous…however, many who have not lived in Romania, or who are not familiar with Romanian culture, won’t quite see why.  Perhaps I can explain it…perhaps not.

Many, many Romanians have left Romania since January 2007, when Romania and Bulgaria were allowed to participate in the EU.  While many are working and working hard in Western European nations now, there is much theft and begging.  In fact, just this week, authorities in France evacuated many Gypsy camps.  Italy has perhaps been the most vigilant, bulldozing camps of Romanians who are squatting on land and working illegally.  It’s true that much of the illegal activity is being carried out by Gypsies.  Well, they also tend to be talented musicians (the accordion is a common instrument), and often make money by playing in popular tourist areas in Western Europe.

This sign above is posted in Denmark (I believe) but in the Romanian language…except for the word ‘play’, which is strange  ’Cante’ would be the Romanian word for playing an instrument.  I don’t know why there is one English word on the sign.  Translated, the sign says, “It’s forbidden to ‘play’ without a license.  Begging also forbidden.”

Posted on July 19, 2010 - by admin

Fara Apa

Day two. No water. Toilets full. One child throwing up. About 99 degrees F outside. Nice!

Posted on July 5, 2010 - by admin

Sales Tax

Romania just increased it’s sales tax….VAT (value added tax) actually, but the result to consumers is basically the same.   The old tax was 19%.  Yes, nineteen percent…already darn high…especially for those of us from the US!   So, what would you imagine they increased it to?  19.25%?  maybe 20% at a max, right?   Nope.

24%     …a 5% increase, overnight!    That puts Romania in the top 6 around the world for highest sales tax (VAT).  In their company is Denmark (25%), Sweden (25%), Norway (25%), Iceland (25.5%), and Hungary (25%).   I don’t want to be mean, but there is a huge difference between all those other nations and Romania.  Those countries have infrastructure and government services (not to mention accountability) that FAR exceeds that of Romania’s by almost untold amounts.

What’s even more disturbing is that this policy change comes as a result of pressure from the IMF (International Mafia Federation).  So, this is essentially what is happening…  The IMF is telling Romania “fix your problem [budget deficit] or we will not give you any more money.”  Romania wants more from the IMF because they have grown dependent on them.  So Romania says, “tell us what we need to do”.  So, the IMF tells Romania HOW they have to fix the problem….raise your taxes on the average person.  In other words, the IMF is now dictating fiscal policy for a sovereign nation because they hold the purse strings.   So Romania adjusts the tax, which hurts the general public – middle to low income families, so that the IMF can give more money to Romania that will eventuallyend up in the hands of those that are already rich and prosperous…including many of the government officials and their personal projects….i.e. – their own houses and businesses.

Here we have government and multi-lateral ”de-development” agencies at their finest.  The final result will be that a) Romania’s general public suffers MORE, b) Romania does not learn how to actually reform itself into a sustainable society, and c) they become more and more dependent and indebted to the IMF and other like agencies….which those agencies feel is just fine.

Posted on June 24, 2010 - by admin

Romanian Proverb

“The biggest trees may fall in a gale, but the weeds remain.”

“La vijelii copacii cei mari jos cad, iar buruienile pe loc raman.”

To understand this proverb you have to put yourself in the shoes of a people have have survived many, many horrible regimes and come out alive…not thriving, but alive.  You also have to put yourself in the shoes of a people who have no foundational trust in their leaders for centuries…and have seen many “big trees” fall.

Posted on June 22, 2010 - by admin

Romanian Proverb

“Ai facut o teaca, dintr-o piele de vaca”

“You used an entire cow’s hide to make a sheath for your knife.”

The general idea is that you started with lots of material but when you were done, you had wasted 95% of it just to get a simple job done.  I have personal experience with this one.  Dr. David and I were trying to hang a monitor (a heave one) on the wall in one of the exam rooms.  We measured, drilled, and hung, only to discover that the patient (a would be pregnant lady watching her own ultrasound) would not be able to see the display because of the angle.  So we rehung…and ran into another problem, the monitor would have impeded the doctor from being in the position he/she needed to be in.  So we hung it a third time.  When we were done, we had left 6 very large holes in the concrete/brick wall about 1-2 inches in diameter.  It looked like gunfire had hit the wall.  We laughed, and Dr. David taught me the saying above.

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?

Posted on May 21, 2010 - by admin

Children left alone as parents work abroad.

This was in the local news here today…

—– article starts here —–

Over 26,000 Romanian children have been left without a parent as many go abroad to find work, according to data released today (Thurs) by the local Save the Children organization.  In total, 85,605 children have had at least one parent go abroad leaving them to live with a relative, usually grand-parents.

Save the Children Romania today (Thurs) launched a new programme to help these children stay in school.  Until now, eight schools in Timis, Caras, Hunedoara, Dolj, Dambovita, Arges, Bucharest and Constanta have after-school programmes for children with parents abroad, for learning and personal counseling.

Romanian immigrants in EU countries will soon surpass the number of Turkish immigrants, a report by Catholic charity Caritas in Italy claimed last month.  The number of Romanian immigrants in EU member states is estimated to be 2.3 million, with most of them – 80 per cent – in Italy and Spain.  Romanians form a community of 829,715 in Spain alone.

—– article ends here —–

Posted on May 4, 2010 - by admin

Permission Granted

The sign above, which reads “standing on the grass is permitted”, is a unique sign in Romania.  Unfortunately, we still see signs to the contrary.  We were at a wedding last summer and the grass in the park nearby where most of the kids wanted to play had a sign on the grass that said, “It is strictly forbidden to walk on the grass”.  I could sort of understand this sentiment if the grass was like that found in an English garden, but the funny thing is that the grass looked horrible.  It was mostly weeds, had not been cut in a long time, and looked like an abandoned field.  Below is one citizens story…

One of the stupid ideas inherited from the communist regime was that never ever, in any circumstances, was one allowed to step on the grass in a public park. From my childhood I remember that any strip of green grass had a sign on it saying “Don’t step on the grass!”, sometimes with the smaller addition “Fine xxx (some amount that my parents were not prepared to pay) lei”. After 1989, when Romanians were finally allowed to own a passport and I got to see the world outside my country I was puzzled to find out that most corners of the world don’t have this policing of the grass. The first time I stepped on the grass in a park I felt a bit guilty and I asked myself why is it OK to do this in other countries and why is it not OK in Romania? But some things change with time and last summer I’ve read in the press that from now on the citizens of Bucharest will be allowed to step, sit, loiter, etc on the grass in public parks. To be honest I didn’t really believe it to be true. Yet, lo and behold, to my surprise, Cismigiu Park is full of signs like the one the above photograph.  I guess I lived to see the day – some girl named Andreea

Posted on May 3, 2010 - by admin

Labor Day BBQ

May 1st was labor day in Romania, and our church celebrated with a BBQ up in the hills.  Here’s a few photos we took of the day.  Jon BBQ’d most of the day, and spent a few minutes in the hammock that someone had brought with them.  The kids spent most of the day torturing the little puppy you see in some of the photos, and collecting lizards.  Even a snake made a brief appearance and attracted a crowd.  Sebastian spent most of the day squawking at the puppy, or almost walking into the fire pit.  Becca spent most of the day chatting with other girls from the church and keeping a supply of food moving in the general direction of Sebastian’s mouth.

Posted on April 28, 2010 - by admin

Coffee is better in Romania.

You can tell if you are a true coffee lover by this simple test:  does the photo above produce a strange flutter in your heart?  Coffee lover.

I know I’ve ranted about this before, but since I am hi-lighting the good things about Romania, this important topic has come up again.  While there are exceptions, in general the coffee in the U.S. is bad…just plain bad, and the coffee over here (in Romania and Europe in general) is good.  Now, I have to be honest and admit, that the good coffee in Romania, actually comes from Italy or Austria or Germany.  But, that’s a minor detail, because it’s true of the good coffee in the U.S. too.  So, in that respect, we are even.  In fact, you can get most of the good coffee sold here, in the US too, and oftentimes Amazon.com is the place to find it.

What people in the US call French Roast would be illegal to drink in France…please, no French jokes or comments about Freedom Fries.  The French might not be the ones you want watching your back in a war, but it would be a darn good idea to have them making the coffee for the soldiers.  That being said, one advantage of Romania’s proximity to Western Europe, at least geographically speaking, is the access to the goods and the talents that produce good drinking coffee. Some like it straight, some like it with milk, some with sugar, some with both.  Some like it iced.  Some like it with just a dab of whipped cream on top.  No matter how you like it, it’s good and it’s better here than there.  Am I going over the top in my attempt to demonstrate that some things are better in Romania than in the US?  I feel like I have to because I’ve knocked Romania too many times in other blog posts.

Now, regarding Starbucks.  I am not about to knock them.  I have been known to frequent the establishment.  But, if you are an American and you go to Starbucks because you think you are getting the best coffee in the world…well, I’m sorry; you are mistaken.  I realize that it might be the best option around, but it’s not the best in the world.  It’s mostly milk, and it’s not smooth, and it makes you have a bowel movement before you can leave the store.  The benefit of Starbucks is that you know what you are going to get no matter where you go.  If your drink of choice is a Venti Carmel decaf Latte Extra Hot with a drop of chocolate and a sprinkle of cinnamon, you have 99% chance of getting it made the same all around the world.  Let’s be honest…Starbucks is the McDonalds of coffee.  And, they are not selling coffee.  They are selling office space!….and if you live outside North America, free internet access!!!  Sorry suckers, it’s true.

So, for all my complaining about life in Romania, here’s one for the team.  The coffee you can find here in most places beats the tail off the coffee you can find in some of the best places in the U.S.

One disclaimer:  Coffee at Denny’s can taste pretty good along side a Grand Slam Breakfast after a cold surf session. Sorry Becca, it’s true!

Behold…a Denny’s grandslam with an empty cup of Joe.