╫ from Bucharest, with love ╫

20101128

Bucharest in photos. The city by night

They say this is the biggest LCD screen in Europe at the moment. It might be true, considering it is a part of the 5-level facade of the Cocor building, located in - or just nearby - Piata Unirii.

The picture was taken back in December 2008, immediately after the LCD screen was inaugurated. Meanwhile, the stores inside was open as well, so you can shop there if you ever come here.

20101126

Bucharest in photos. Pilgrimage

The patron Saint and protector of Bucharest is Saint Demetrius the New, celebrated on October 27th, when tens of thousands of people from all parts of Romania and from abroad come to whisper a prayer next to his coffin. You can find his relics in the Patriarchal Cathedral in Bucharest (and you have to know that lots of people, especially from Orthodox countries, visit this church every Sunday).

By every standards, Romanians are very religious people. In Europe, they can only compare to the Polish and the Maltese, in terms of religiosity. The problem is that the level of religiosity does not mean automatically that the religious faith is equally strong - as duplicity is an issue in most maters concerning Romanians. But do not be surprised if you find out religion is very powerful in Romania.

20101124

Bucharest in photos. Watching the game

Surprisingly, the event projected on the huge screen was not a football match, but a handball one.

And a song I really really like.

week'toriAl48. About my co-nationals

I've had a rough schedule lately. This is not an excuse; it's rather an explanation to my recent absence.

Today's post is about my fellow co-nationals. I'll put down what I came to learn about them so far. It costed me a lot to learn these things. A few weeks ago I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown because of one of them. So this was on my mind for a while, recently.

The things I do not like about Romanians, first:

- they are disorganized. This is visible as you walk on the streets. It is also visible if you watch them driving, for instance.

- they are egocentric.

- many of them do not like to work. That being said, there are many who really do, and many who work really hard; the concept of burn-out is not a mystery in Romania. But still, there are many who do not like to work.

- most of them do not like to respect rules. Or to respect the others.

- many have a bad impression about their country, while they have a good impression about themselves.

- they do not like to plan things, and I suppose this is the first thing you may see as you take the first step into the country.

- many have a lot to learn about good taste, as they really like kitsch - a rather common way of life around here, unfortunately.

- the worst thing, the only thing that ever made me consider emigrating, is that many Romanians envy the others so passionately, that their reasoning capacity is diminished. Out of personal experience, I can tell you there were cases when people tried to harm me just because they believed I was richer than them. And they did so even if their action did not bring them any advantage at all. Of course, this is not general, but it is really painful.

What I like about them, instead:

- they are not stupid (unless if they try really hard);

- they began traveling and opening themselves to the world. It basically means that, if you ever come to Romania, you should normally find people with a decent command of basic English, and occasionally other languages, such as Italian, Spanish, German or French. And this is a huge change if you look 20 years behind, as during the communist period only the privileged few were allowed to travel abroad;

- they actually have a rich cultural heritage, thus an identity which, rightfully used, could lead to a very fast and steady development of their country;

- they like to party. This might be actually a sign of superficiality, but to me this represents rather a sign of an easy heart.

You see, most of my co-nationals like to complain about their poorness. And most Romanians are poor, indeed. They will always tell you it is not their fault and they will blame the politicians - which is not primarily true. The Romanian politicians are indeed a disaster at this point, but they are in fact similar to the people they represent. Our main problem is not poorness; it is disorganization. It is not that we do not have money to spend; it is that we waste the (little) money we have and we blame others.

This makes that people who want to change things around here have only two possibilities in the end: they have to adapt themselves to the rest of the society and to appear as normal people, while invisibly trying to walk their way; or they have to quit and to emigrate - which represents their defeat, as well as the defeat of the country itself. Both these things happen today.

And then, there are those few who try to bring change without adapting themselves to the society. You tell me what is right and wrong here.