What's wrong with Romania?

Discuss culture, living, traveling, relocating, dating or anything related to the European Countries.
Think Different
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Post by Think Different »

Good history lesson. Thanks for sharing. Sometimes it's easy to forget just how fractured Europe still is. I know there are ethnic German enclaves in Romania, as well, but I don't remember where.
Jackal
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Post by Jackal »

RedDog wrote:Good history lesson. Thanks for sharing. Sometimes it's easy to forget just how fractured Europe still is. I know there are ethnic German enclaves in Romania, as well, but I don't remember where.
I know at least some of them are in Transylvania. I remember someone pointing out the different style of houses they built to me while we were driving through some small villages. Also, German craftsmen built the walls in the city of Sighisoara (Hungarian: Segesvár).

Yep, here we go:
"During the 12th century, German craftsmen and merchants known as the Transylvanian Saxons were invited to Transylvania by the King of Hungary to settle and defend the frontier of his realm. The chronicler Krauss lists a Saxon settlement in the actual Sighiṣoara by 1191...The German artisans and craftsmen dominated the urban economy, as well as building the fortifications protecting it."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sighi%C5%9Foara

Sighisoara was one of the most impressive things I saw in Transylvania. It is a beautiful and fascinating city which is built around a medieval town. There are generally no cities in present-day Hungarian with buildings that old, so it was interesting for me to see. Vlad the Impaler was born in this city. If anyone goes to Transylvania, they should stop here and take a look.

This was also the city in which the Hungarians I was travelling with were most on edge and they warned me about the gypsies there. Nothing bad happened to any of us, so I can't say for sure how much crime there is there, but I wouldn't want to walk through those winding, dark, narrow medieval streets at night!
Think Different
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Post by Think Different »

OK, now you've totally piqued my interest! I'm bumping Romania to the top 5 "next countries to visit" (once I get moved to Italy.....)
Jackal
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Post by Jackal »

RedDog wrote:OK, now you've totally piqued my interest! I'm bumping Romania to the top 5 "next countries to visit" (once I get moved to Italy.....)
And for you it makes even more sense because your wife is Italian, so she will be able to communicate with the Romanians and they'll be friendly to her because Italian, like Romanian, is a Romance language.

75 percent of the people in Sighisoara are Romanians. Some of my Hungarian friends tried using Hungarian there and only got shocked blank looks in return. I tried English, but many people didn't speak that there either. I had to use my Spanish to make myself understood.

I think it's easier for Romanians to understand other Romance languages than it is for speakers of other Romance languages to understand Romanian. Romanian was influenced by the Slavic, Greek, Turkish, and Hungarian languages, so it's very different than most Romance Languages.

Here's a sample of some Romanian. I'd be interested to hear how much your wife can understand!

Think Different
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Post by Think Different »

I showed this to my wife and she said she can't understand it, more than an occasional word, here and there (same as me). I think you're right: Romanians understand more of other Romance languages, than the other way around. I noticed the same thing with Czechs and Poles: they understand other Slavic languages better than, say Russians can understand Polish or Czech. That may also have to do with Russian being forced on them in school for so many years.

As a note, my wife is unfortunately rather racist at times (different day/different mood/different target), and due to Italy being overrun by so many Romanians (and Roma, and Albanians, etc), she has a predisposition to dislike anything to do with them. She may also just be mentally blocking this, too.

I've argued about this racism crap with her for years, but she won't change. I am not racist, but have a healthy distrust for certain nationalities, based on actual experience. I try to be more open-minded, but it's a struggle, so I don't want to blast her out of the water, either.
Jackal
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Post by Jackal »

RedDog wrote: I've argued about this racism crap with her for years, but she won't change. I am not racist, but have a healthy distrust for certain nationalities, based on actual experience. I try to be more open-minded, but it's a struggle, so I don't want to blast her out of the water, either.
I know what you mean. Most Europeans have strong ethnic biases.

I get annoyed with Hungarians who think that Slovakia has basically no right to exist and should be theirs. They ignore that Slovakia has its own language and culture. If the Hungarians got back a few of the border areas of Slovakia where Hungarians actually live that would be one thing, but I think Slovaks have a right to their own country.

Additionally, Europeans attitudes towards the Roma range from distrust to homicidal rage.

Another city that I liked in Transylvania was Cluj-Napoca (Hungarian: Kolozsvár). About 20% of the population there are Hungarians, and most of the surviving buildings downtown seem to date from the 1700s so it doesn't feel as old as Sighisoara. The city felt like a city in Hungary to me. I felt good there and I didn't get that creeped out feeling that I got in Sighisoara. However, Sighisoara looked much cooler and was a lot more interesting for me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluj-Napoca
Think Different
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Post by Think Different »

According to Wikipedia, Sighisoara's Latin name is "Castrum Sex". That's enough to scare any guy!
Jackal
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Post by Jackal »

The best-looking castle I've seen in Romania so far is the Hunyad Castle. It's in great condition and is very interesting to walk through.

This castle belonged to John Hunyadi, the Hungarian ruler of Transylvania who killed Vlad the Impaler's father. John Hunyadi's son, King Matthias Corvinus imprisoned Vlad the Impaler. Matthias was born in Cluj-Napoca.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunyad_Castle

If I read things correctly, Vlad the Impaler was imprisoned for a time in Budapest! I had never heard that before. I'll have to look into it further and try to find out where he was held.

Hungarians have no interest whatsoever in Vlad the Impaler because Vlad was Romanian and because he is a symbol of Romanian nationalism.
Nick
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Post by Nick »

Sorry, Jackal I have to contradict you. Your post about Transilvania/Hungary is the most authentic action of disinformation I ever seen in my entire life.

I’m an American and I live in Romania since 2008, and I love it. I don’t know if I’m going to spend the rest of my life here but definitely I love it. Women & food & music are absolutely great the best I’ve found in Europe, east or west. It’s true that when you come here the first impression is that you turn back time but NO it’s a completely different civilization with completely different values and mentality, they just don’t absorb the western civilization automatically; there is a previous filtration of western values before adopting them. It’s the last place in EU with wild animals, and healthy food. They don’t have highways like in Western Europe because it may destroy the ecosystem, and if they want them, they don’t want too many.

About Transilvania what can I say, there is no hate/frictions between Romanians and Hungarians. Greater Hungary never existed as a state, the map you posted there it’s a Utopia land. Transilvania just like, Hungary, Slovakia…. etc were PART OF THE THE AUSTRIAN EMPIRE which was transformed into the Austro-Hungarian Empire a compromise that Austrians made for various reasons, somewhere in the middle of 19th century. Greater Hungary is an idiocy OMG who wants the recreation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in Europe in 21th Century? Maybe some d*ckheads. It’s like questioning the result of the American Civil War, was it right or wrong? No, it was wrong let’s do it once again! Your post is not a lesson of history but a lesson of disinformation.

Romanians are the most tolerant population in Europe. They’re proud of being the one of the few countries in Europe conserving the gipsy culture, all minorities have more rights that in all other countries in Europe. I truly do believe Europe has a lot to learn from Romania regarding minorities and multiculturalism. Few months ago during a hockey game between Romania and Hungary ethnical Hungarians from the Romanian team didn’t want to sing the Romanain National Anthem and they sang another song AND THEY WERE TOLERATED LIKE THAT. Do you know what happens in US if you show disrespect for the national symbols? I don’t’ think you want to know! You will tell me now they hate gypsies….well I can answer you they have a love&hate relation with them which is hard to explain if you haven’t been to Romania. End of story: I have to remind you that tolerance is not about loving each other is about accepting each other as we are.

Vlad the Impaler never lived in that castle tourists are taken to, but in Bucharest and in another small town near Bucharest is called Targoviste. These are the places where you can find the real castles of Dracula.
John Hunyadi and his son were the descendants of an old Romanian family they tried hard to assassinate him just because he was from a Romanian smaller family, and they did it after their death the power was taken by some Hungarian noble families. Jackal I understand history was not your favorite so let’s talk about boobs…
….yeah, Romanian women are the most gorgeous women I’ve ever seen….but I’ve already told you that, didn’t I?
Billy
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Post by Billy »

Nick. very good stuff. would like to hear more about your experiences.
Nick
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Post by Nick »

I don’t know what to tell you. What do you want to know about Romania?

Women? Well I like them and I’m not the only one. Not only they are beautiful but they know how to cook and most of all, they have a crazy sense of humor that I discovered so, so late because of the language I didn’t understand at all. It’s a romance language and if you know Italian or French it’s easier to learn it. They are very friendly feminine, and talkative, most of them know English well but they are not so easy to get, they like Americans, but they are not going to do everything to escape Romania and come with you in US, as I've heard before. They told me it used to be like that during the communist period and shortly after 1990 because the life was really bad but now since they are in the EU they can go abroad for work and study, America is too far away. They must be married and truly in love with you to leave their country or to leave Europe. I’m talking about the average Romanian girl. Most of them are religious, they are Orthodox, so they are not very strict. That’s specific about orthodoxy in Christian world. The only orthodox people I knew were Jewish and I was expecting something similar but there is nothing like that.

There are prostitutes & scams, of course, like in other Eastern European countries. I’m not so much into that so I can’t give you too many details. The prostitution is illegal but as I posted before it’s a tolerant country there are night clubs, massage, escort & all that stuff. It’s a very interesting place, not the Netherland tolerant style. There is no relativism about good & bad things in life. Whores are whores, they are what they are, they’re assuming their condition nobody kills them with stones but nobody take them seriously. Average women are not nuns, saints, holy mothers of gods but there is no western mentality about whoring = liberated and emancipated women, not even for younger generations. Porn stars are not key opinion leaders in society like in other European countries, ex: Hungary cause we talked about that earlier or Italy. There is something very healthy about Romanian mentality that I like a lot. The general attitude is something like "Forgive them father they don't know what they're doing"
If you want to know more tell me I'll be here asap!
Billy
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Post by Billy »

Thanks for your input. I am a turkish guy living in germany but going back there in one month. I am interested in different perspectives. And the area you are living is not dealt much here. What´s your story? How comes you are living in romania?
Nick
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Post by Nick »

I’m 35 yrs old, I’m from NY, I live in Romania since 2008, I came here for work, I found here the kind of girl I always dreamed about, I travelled a lot, as a child with my parents also…I’m still here not because of my girl (she would travel with me anyway) but I like it, this place gave me a different perspective of life in many ways…
Jackal
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Post by Jackal »

Nick wrote:Sorry, Jackal I have to contradict you. Your post about Transilvania/Hungary is the most authentic action of disinformation I ever seen in my entire life.

About Transilvania what can I say, there is no hate/frictions between Romanians and Hungarians. Greater Hungary never existed as a state, the map you posted there it’s a Utopia land. Transilvania just like, Hungary, Slovakia…. etc were PART OF THE THE AUSTRIAN EMPIRE which was transformed into the Austro-Hungarian Empire a compromise that Austrians made for various reasons, somewhere in the middle of 19th century. Greater Hungary is an idiocy OMG who wants the recreation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in Europe in 21th Century? Maybe some d*ckheads. It’s like questioning the result of the American Civil War, was it right or wrong? No, it was wrong let’s do it once again! Your post is not a lesson of history but a lesson of disinformation.
I don't doubt that your viewpoint helps you make friends with Romanians! ;) You can call the map I posted all the names you want, but the fact remains that it is a tremendously important symbol to modern Hungarians, some of whom even wear necklaces of that map! There is no historical event more lamented by modern Hungarians than the Treaty of Trianon. For example, Hungarians hardly ever mention a thing about WWII, but they endlessly talk about Trianon!

Who wants a recreation of those borders? Many modern Hungarians--that's who! Some of them don't even flinch at the thought of war (which I don't think is good, but it just shows how long European countries hold grudges...).

And Hungary previously controlled most of that territory in the early Middle Ages.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of ... iddle_Ages

Image

The main point is that there is still a Hungarian-speaking minority in Transylvania who do not feel that they have all the rights that they should have. Perhaps most Romanians could care less about these issues, but they are extremely important to Hungarians. The Hungarians who live in Transylvania have a culture which is distinct from the Romanians who live there.

But anyway, I'm glad that you enjoy your life in Romania.
ladislav
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Post by ladislav »

The reason Romania is off the list is because it does not have a MOB industry or agencies that fix foreign men up with local women. Nor do Bulgaria or Macedonia for that matter. I guess because those countries are warmer, they have more jealous guys than the ones in Russia or Ukraine.
A brain is a terrible thing to wash!
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