Expat In Romania

Sunt un idealist, știu. După ce-mi depășesc dubiile inițiale despre orice văd/aud/mi se propune, rămâne doar optimismul bazat pe faptul ca am încredere în intențiile bune ale omenirii -asta doar dacă sunt intrade-văr intenții bune. De obicei, îmi dau seama dacă-i cazul . Acum mai bine de doi ani am scris primul meu articol în română. L-am întitulat  Cum Să-i Dai Pe Toți Ticăloși Afara.  L-am scris cu optimismul că (și) în Romania se poate. Știam asta pentru că, deși la vremea aceea eram venit de doar un an, încă nu întâlnisem oameni care nu erau bine intenționați. L-am scris in mare parte și din frustrare. O frustrare care încă o simțeam până la alegerile prezidențiale din 17 noiembrie. Deși Romania este o țară democratică, a căruia legii prevăd niște drepturi anume, cu un sistem de guvernare cât-de-cât transparent, puțini sunt oamenii care își asumă libertațiile democrației și care participă in procesul democratic pe de lung. Am vorbit despre acest process in articolul sus-...

My dear friends, Call me sentimental, but this image broke my heart. Of all the scribbles on that lousy piece of paper, the one that ripped into me is not political, it's not directed at Ponta, and it has nothing to do with voting. It takes on many other overtones, however. It is indignant, because you wrote that at a moment when you felt stripped of your dignity. It's despairing in its tone because you're fighting windmills. And finally, it's a very poignant cry for something that every human needs: a home. If  the word "Londra" weren't written on that paper, I could imagine the same scribbles plastered all over a local sign. Except for that one exclamation, at the very bottom, in red pen. "Vrem Acasa!!!" I understand the frustration of living in a place that, although hospitable, can never be like home. I understand the futility of imagining 'what if' you could live in Romania. I mean really live -  not just su...

There was a roadtrip in August. Instead of leaving the country for more cosmopolitan destinations, my soon-to-be wife and I wanted to see what Romania has to offer. More than we were able to see in ten days on the road it turns out. I'm still sorting pictures though, and probably at some point in the middle of winter, with summer nostalgia at its peak, I will have finished the post, complete with sun-drenched images. Although I've become involved in a couple of new projects (in addition to work), there is no one thing that's keeping me from writing other than the feeling that I'd be doing it because I have to. I could have written about the Canadians who opened a nice little bistro in Piata Muzeului. About the Cluj Comedy festival, about voting in the recent (and upcoming) election. There are also good things happening with local businesses, most notably an improvement in quality of products and services in some cases. But there are still hard facts of life that ...