Well folks, I thank you from the bottom of my heart if you’ve bought the book, recommended it to your friends and/or left nice comments on the various websites. You’re truly spreading the word and every sale counts in terms of getting the book noticed.
You’ve read my article(s) here and on the Romania Libera website so you know exactly why I wrote this book and why I believe so much in this whole thing – it just feels like a really good thing for this country and I’m extremely proud to be involved.
That being said, the cold, hard reality is I’ve received about 5 total dollars profit so far in my actual pocket (from selling a few copies in person here in Romania). Amazon and the rest are going to pay me but that’s another 30-60 days away. I know everything is going to be fine but it’s just going to take some time.
But bills need paying and Christmas presents bought and book copies ordered and all the rest, so if you’d like to donate to my “Christmas stocking” click on the image (of the stocking) in the sidebar and you’ll be taken to a Paypal page.
Thanks once again to all of you and Happy Holidays! :D
UPDATE: I’ve been getting some nasty comments from a few people so I thought I’d (re)-explain a few things because quite frankly I’m just about fed up with some of these attitudes.
- Yes I am going on vacation in Spain starting December 27. I paid for this vacation back in September precisely because it is 100 times cheaper that way. I have not set foot outside of Romania in four years so quite frankly, I need a brief change of scenery not to mention some warmer temperatures and some sun on my pasty white skin.
- While all of you were (hopefully) enjoying a lazy and relaxing summer, I was sitting in my sweatbox apartment writing the book. Of course that was my choice to do but it is what it is.
- I don’t “hate” Timisoara. It’s a gorgeous and beautiful city and is highly recommended in my book. I lived there 5 years ago and it was a rough experience for me on a lot of levels, not necessarily because it was Timisoara. I still go to this town at least once a year and have some very good friends there. That being said, yes I prefer Cluj. I live here, duh.
- This entire website is free to read and I made it that way on purpose. If you want to thank me by donating a couple bucks, that’s awesome. If not, that’s fine too. Nobody is putting a damn gun to your head.
- Maybe one day I’ll be living well purely on the book and related stuff but that day isn’t here yet. Again, my choice to dedicate myself to this project but it never was (and never will be) about lining my pockets. I can think of about 100 ways to be purely mercenary and profit off this country. I could join the “Woe is Romania” club and write sad stories about gypsies and give speeches all over Europe and write articles in the Guardian and Time magazine and the like. I DIDN’T DO ANY OF THIS FOR MONEY.
- Yes I listen to manele on occasion. No I do not listen to it 24 hours a day. It is what it is so get over it. I’m currently getting attacked over in the comment section on Romania Libera precisely because of this. A guy who has written very nice things about Romania (Filius Lunae, on the sidebar) learned Romanian by listening to manele as well. What do you want me to do? To lie? Other than the fact that I haven’t eaten a hamburger in probably 10 years, the RL interview was the 100% truth.
- Yes I’m American and yes I worked my f*cking ass off to write this book and travel to Bucharest and promote this country in 500 ways every day because this is my passion and I believe in it. Yes it is true I saved my money to make this happen and I did it via an American salary. Every third Romanian I know has gone somewhere abroad to work and save money. Where is the crime in this??? I wouldn’t even have set foot in this country if it weren’t for some Romanians I met in America, working and saving money.
- To all the people who say to me “Well these are nice ideas but it’ll never work” well honestly, go to hell. Show me what you are doing and then we can talk. Numai fapte conteaza and I’m out there every day doing my part. You can do your part too or you can sit at home and judge people you never met in your life and be miserable. That’s your choice. O ROMANIE FRUMOASA E SARCINA TUTOROR not just me so put up or shut up. But if I had a dollar for every time someone told me “nu se poate” (it can’t be done) and then I went ahead and did it then I’d be quite rich indeed ;)
- I have received literally thousands of comments, tweets, Facebook messages, emails and face to face conversations with people concerning this book (and website, etc) and everyone is quite excited precisely because it is something good for this country. I have received unbelievable generosity and kindness from Romanians since day 1 in this country and my book (and this site) is my way of saying thank you. If you can’t understand that I’m sorry but chiar nu intelegi engleza deloc, you need to learn some more English because I can’t write it any simpler.
- The only comments I censor on here are either spam advertising ones or else ones with violent or abusive language. I think I’ve deleted one comment total that was like that. You’re free to disagree with me and say your mind here so please keep that in mind when you’re sitting there judging me so harshly. You see my face and my public appearances are listed on this blog. You want to talk more sh*t to me you come down and say it to my face, you f*cking cowards. I’ve been stabbed and shot (at) before and tangled with guys exactly like this (actually the cousin of one of the guys in the car) so you don’t intimidate me, you miserable punks.
To all of you who have been supportive, I thank you. I apologize for the above but I just couldn’t take it anymore. My (American) bank froze my account this morning because apparently it’s “suspicious” to use my debit card here in Romania even though I’ve been doing it for years. Whatever. I called them and it’s being worked out but it’s just been one frustrating day, especially when I have to go down to the bloc office with hat in hand saying I can’t pay the intretinere. Ooof.
All Things Romania 
Hey Sam,
I hope that all the comments from RL will empower you and “in loc sa pui la inima” all those nasty, hateful and totally “off topic” comments you will actually see beyond the words and once more get the “Romanian essence for you books”.
Look on the bright side, you have more material to write a hole book, just from 30 comments :) (just kidding).
Just started to go through your blog so I’m not sure if you already discussed these “words of wisdom” here. In any case I will leave you with it:
“Nu mor caii cand vor cainii”
“Cainii latra caravana trece”
Cheers mate,
Hope you had a great time in Spain
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Cheers, Sam! Glad to see you exist somewhere. I somehow perceive you as some kind of a mirror image of mine, since I am a Romanian living in the US.
First off, I gotta say I would have paid even more for your book (wife is American and it’s always useful to bring other sources to present her with images of my native Romania – I am from Oradea). I browsed it a bit, before wrapping it and putting it under the tree, and I can say “esti valabil”. There’s much to be said about the book, most of them positive, but I don’t plan on making it extensive. Some nuances in the book are not the same with what I knew, partially because you didn’t get them exactly right, partially because you saw another facet of Romania than me, and perhaps because some things changed since I left, almost six years ago. I bet in time you will cover other parts of the map (for instance, I noticed you left the “Secuime” part mostly out, and it would be worth seeing places like Sovata, Corund, Praid – I know, it’s the Hungarian language issue, but it’s not that bad).
Your preference for Izvorul minunilor is funny as hell – I know many people working for the bottling company, but this did not deter me from religiously avoiding their products. On the other hand, if there is still something left in Stana de Vale (where the spring is), it might be worth a stop, when looking for Meziad, Pestera ursilor, Valea Boga, Valea Aleului, or going for skiing at Arieseni. While I went quite often at the Stana in its olden days, my college May 1st days were spent mostly at Vadu Crisului – Suncuius – Bratca – Valea Draganului in tents (don’t know if I could do it again). I have no idea if they plan to develop the airport in Oradea, in which case the, together with Baile Felix and Baile 1 Mai could become more visible (and better maintained, last time I checked they did not look too different from the hotels at the Black Sea).
Here’s one of my differing versions: vodca is the first distillation phase, the next one(s) is/are “tuica”, or “palinka” in Hungarian. If you go to the border strip within Romania toward Hungary, inhabited with Hungarian ethnics, the plums get replaced with peaches/apricots, in Hungarian both are “Barack”, but not Obama (pronounced bohrots).
Ah, culinary details: I have discovered the Mexican menudo and the Southern chitterlings, as somewhat similar to the ciorba de burta, but the chitlins are way more intense. Hot sauce/habanero peppers are a must. I’ll keep digging. So far I’ve found Borsec in ethnic stores. Too bad they don’t carry the sugar Coca-Cola (I’m fed up with the HFCS variety, omnipresent in the US).
Meanwhile, keep doing the good work. And enjoy your trip!
PS: the German equivalent of “sa moara si capra vecinului” is “Schadenfreude”.
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romanians are known to be born from ancient critics..
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Don’t let the poor buggers get you down Sam ! Unfortunately these kind of people are a consistent part of the “romanian internet” and if you’re trying to be nice to them expecting the same in exchange, well, you’re wrong. The only way to put up with these guys is to treat them as they treat you. I’ve become literally sickened by all these idiots and I chose to simply ignore them – they don’t deserve such atention from my behalf. Anyway, don’t let yourself get buggered by these guys and simply ignore them. In the long run, you’ll see that it will serve you right. Sarbatori fericite !
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Не расстраивайся, Сэм!!! я читаю твой блог с июня, но никогда не комментировала. А сейчас просто хочу поддержать тебя. То, что ты делаешь, достойно большого уважения. Я сама не отсюда, но очень люблю эту страну, и я очень рада, что и американцы любят Румынию. Просто продолжай делать то, что делаешь сейчас. Окей? :) И не обращай ни на кого внимания, ведь у тебя много фанатов (я в том числе), будь выше всего этого!!! ешть Сэм Чел Ромын! :D:D:D
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Спасибо милая дама. Но почему ты не пришел на вечеринку? Вы знаете, очень хорошо, поэтому я, как на практике Россию с вами. Я смеялся так много сегодня, когда я читал “Сэм” для владельца пишет мое имя точно так же! :)) Са траим бине!! :D
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Hey, Sam..
I’ve been reading your blog for a little while. A friend of mine posted one of your blog posts on Facebook a few days before December 1st and that’s how I got here, to the home of the king of Romania. I appreciate everything you say and stand for and I’m glad to see there are others who see things in a less than black light and who, instead of complaining all day long try to actually do something to improve things. And it’s even more impressive considering that you are actually American and have absolutely no obligation toward this little country of ours.
I wish you all the best and hope that your problems will soon come to an end. And maybe I’ll get to Cluj one day and we’ll meet and talk about what can be done to turn this country around and show the whole world the true face and beauty of what being Romanian is all about.
Take care!
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Hello,
Can you please tell me what was your first job in Romania? It said something about working from home for an US court, but what was it?
I really like the blog by the way,
Thanks!
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I do appreciate what you are trying to do Sam. I hope you won’t get deterred by some stupid closed minded sons of a she dog.
I can understand what you are feeling right now as in some ways I had similar experiences to yours.
Some Romanians, but not limited to them, really like to criticise other people just because.
One of my points of contention is that I often get criticesed for the 3d software I use to do my work instead of getting critiques for that work….I mean it’s ridiculous, it’s like saying it like this:
“Nice work on the design of that car which looks as if it could have been made with dozens of other software packages but you should use a more serious 3d application because the one you used to do that work is utterly crap” . Seriously, WTF?
Sorry for departing a little from the subject but I also needed to vent some steam today….people can get really annoying and frustrating.
Anyway, I wish you a Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year!!
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Cheer up Sam, we’re still here!
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I am sorry to hear you have problems with your bank. It’s not the first time I hear such stories and I am more and more convinced that the banks in the US are more and more paranoid. Maybe after this event you might get an alternative with a Romanian bank? To keep the eggs separated between several baskets.
Regarding the negative comments, welcome to the national sport called “sa moara capra vecinului” or “may the neighbour’s goat die as well”. The cold hard truth is that there are many people who, instead of being motivated when someone else succeeds in doing something, they start throwing shit around. A sad, nasty joke says that in hell there is no devil guarding the cauldrons where Romanians are boiling in tar. The reason is that as soon as one tries to get out, the others are quick to pull him back in.
Keep up the good work and ignore the trolls that howl at you. They’ll get bored after a while and leave you alone. For every small minded individual like that there are tens of people that appreciate the effort you made. Don’t start debates with the fools, for they have a well rested mind.
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