One of my all-time favorite jokes goes a little something like this: Person: So how many languages do you speak? Me: Just a few words or fluently? Person: Fluently. -pause- Me: None! :P I got to thinking about this after some experiences I’ve had lately, and after reading this snarky asshole article from the Financial Times. Since they’re hyper-vigilant about their content, I’ll paste the … Continue reading The Languages I Speak
Well no, I’m not actually going anywhere on vacation. But as you’ve probably noticed, output on the blog has been very slow of late. In short, I am taking a vacation from writing here and doing the tourism thing and the whole nine yards. Quite frankly, I am burned out on Romanians and the way they do things here. I sent my book to the … Continue reading Summer Vacation
I’ve had a little fun with this before but one of the most interesting things about the Romanian language is how it takes twists and turns from the Latin. If you’ve been around Romanian long enough, you’ve heard of the MAPN, the acronym for one of the great tongue twisters (for English speakers) of all time, Ministerul Apărării. That translates to the “Ministry of Defense” … Continue reading Word of the Day: Neapărat
Well as I briefly mentioned here and illustrated with a photograph here, the Hungarians here in Unicorn City have been getting mighty upset about the way the Lord of Cluj has been operating lately. As sad as this is to say, stirring up the Hungarians is essentially a political move ahead of the 2012 elections, and here in Unicorn City a little dose of racism … Continue reading Word of the Day: Bozgor
This is a shot from the interior of a Cluj city bus. For those of you who are interested in such things, this is a Renault vehicle, originally built to service Paris. Although unreadable in this photo, all the interior signs and markings in this bus are still in French, which I consider to be a free daily lesson in a language I don’t really … Continue reading Poza Zilei: Le Bus
All Things Romania 