Expat In Romania

We were celebrating a friend's birthday in a rented log cabin on the banks of Lake Tarnita when I met Steve (not his real name). Steve was well dressed, in dark coloured slacks and a white button up shirt with cufflinks. It's only worthy of mention because I found it overly formal for a cabin get-together where the principal activities were eating, drinking, and karaoke, but to each his own. He'd kept to himself most of the evening, but then he came by the kitchen-counter/bar where I'd gotten comfortable with a bottle of Ballantine's and we got to talking, initially about travel. "If I could live anywhere in the world I'd move to Costa Rica." Steve said. "Why there?" "Nice, peaceful country. The weather's perfect. And it's far away from here." "And you'd leave Romania for good?" I asked. "Oh yeah, this country is done for." "How about the future?" I asked, just to be philosophical. ...

If I translate my English posts into Romanian, it's only fair to return the favour. Although I'm going to cover the central theme of the previous post (written in Romanian), I'd rather let my writing take its course and let the text speak naturally, without relying on a source text. The Presidential elections in Romania marked the end of the Basescu era. During his ten year mandate, he oversaw Romania's integration into NATO and ascension to the EU as well as Romania's most significant level of economic growth since 1989. He also presided over the ongoing theft of national and natural resources,  supported corrupt colleagues  and businesses, and was the star of numerous scandals including two referendums aimed at his removal. During Basescu's mandate, I'd wager that Romanian morale reached an all-time low. The '90s, wild as they were, carried a certain optimism. Over time, however, the incompetence of Romanian leaders and their flagrant disrespect fo...

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-...

As I do nearly every morning I use the phone as a stimulant, reading new messages as a means of clearing the mindfog that blankets my still sleeping brain. Some days I groan in annoyance at the world, others I snap right up with a mission. Saturday was an example of the latter. One of the local news digest publications shared the mayor of Cluj, Emil Boc's, bold statement that he would fine the snow removal contractors if every street in the city wasn't clean by 9pm that evening. Oh really? My street wasn't cleaned once last year and so far this year it didn't look like any contractors were planning on bucking the trend. I instantly went over to the computer, searched for the city hall website and the contact numbers. Right at the top was the Mayor's Office. This is gonna be good , I thought, rubbing my hands with glee. If you're expecting a witty exchange with a bored and uninterested official you will be disappointed. The gentleman who answered the phone tol...

With our digital age being what it is; a web of social networks, nearly ubiquitous computing, and a constant flow of information, it's unrealistic to believe that the socio-political status quo will remain in the form it's been for the last hundred years. Education and the workplace will be the first institutions to change. Working from home is becoming the norm in many companies (I should know), while parents are increasingly disillusioned with public schooling and are looking elsewhere. The explosive growth of Khan Academy is not an accident nor a one-off.  Slowly but surely school and the office will cease to be what they are. If these cornerstones of our modern society change so dramatically, others will follow too. The biggest change will occur when we the people also become the government. We're a long way away from being the sort of peaceful self-governing societies that require no actual government authority or coercive measures to protect ourselves from each ot...