Expat In Romania

Not long ago, I wrote a short post on another kind of Romanian beauty, but I came across a blog that's full of stunning images of local scenery. It's nice to see somebody's taking the time to curate these images and offer them to an international audience (in English). Browsing through it helped whet my appetite for the upcoming Romania tour this summer. Here's the link to the blog , and a bunch of sample shots. Enjoy! Putna Monastery                                                               Sulina, Danube Delta Fagaras Fortress Brasov Cabin in the Carpathians   Rainy Street in Brasov   Beauty in the fields

Many years ago, I dated a girl who was half Laotian and half Chinese. I liked that even though she was born in Canada, she had these backup cultures on which she could form her world view, just like I did. When we talked we'd sometimes get into discussions about things like the different ways in which Canadians, Romanians, Laotians, or Chinese prepare chicken. "I ate chicken feet and chicken hearts back in my country," I'd say. We'd both be grossed out (because that just isn't done in Canada) even though it's not unusual in our backup cultures to eat everything but the beak. Then one day she said to me, "You're always talking about your country, but it's kind of boring." Ouch. She wasn't saying Romania is boring though, she meant that the cultural discussions we had were less interesting than talking about work, movies, music, and other random everyday Canadian stuff. Needless to say, we didn't stay together very long. It'...

It's now been three years. My one-way trip from Toronto had me arrive on April 1st, 2011, the irony, right? I came in via Budapest. They don't even have that connection anymore. Let's see what else has changed, in no particular order at all... 1. The mayor 2. The other mayor 3. The Janis on Eroilor is no longer there 4. There's a beautiful new stadium 5. Cluj are no longer a force in Romanian football 6. The steps to Cetatuia have been rebuilt 7. All you can eat sushi is a daily thing  8. More Canadians (and other foreigners) are calling Cluj 'home' 9. Quality of services is improving  10. There is a new park (Iulius) 11. You can now find a pretty decent burger around here  12. Saw the opening of the first (and probably still the only) Thai restaurant in Transylvania 13. Central Park got a haircut (a bit on the short side) 14. You can fly to more places in Europe (Basel is the latest direct flight) 15. Th...

De ce? Pentru ca, de ce nu. E si alceva. Mi-am dat seama ca pot macar sa traduc articolele vechi, scrise in Engleza, si sa le fac 'available' in Romana. Apropo, o sa scriu asa in felu meu, cu Englezisme si cuvinte inovative. Sper ca sunteti excitati, cum am fost si eu de cand am ajuns inapoi in tara.