Expat In Romania

I don't write during the weekend (or at least, I don't publish) and by the time Monday comes around, we'll most likely have a good idea of Sunday's parliamentary election results. They won't be the official, 100%, definitive results because the losing party will claim fraud and the winning party will also claim fraud. After an official 'investigation' the winning party will be declared the winning party and the losers will continue their whining. Like the fake promises, the outcome is also scripted, I guess I just happened to get an advance copy. Let's be serious. The only winners will be the hobos who get a seat in Parliament. The newly elected Deputati (MPs) will be very interested in making the country better -for themselves and for their friends. Maybe amongst them are a handful of young idealists, I don't know who they are, but I wish them well. Instead of going on and on about how selfish, short-sighted, and spineless our politicians are, I...

It's been a long week and there's been lots of introspection and mulling over ideas on my end. The thing is, this blog is eventually going to turn into something else. Living in Romania is not so much of a novelty anymore and even if it were, I'd rather become more involved than continue in the role of observer. As an observer, I notice things, but all I can do is point them out and then what, move on? I don't want to do that. But since I'm still observing, I thought I'd point out a few things, and maybe provide some form of direction where it's badly needed.  More than lack of money and influence, Romania and many Romanians are lacking in something greater: Values. I will expand on this next week, but for now I'm fairly confident that this cut and dry statement will hit the mark: The thirst for material wealth and social standing manifested in external displays of 'success' have replaced value-driven mores that can only be measured internal...