The other day I was riding in a taxi on a warm if somewhat overcast spring day. There was some kind of major traffic jam in town and so we were inching along quite slowly. I was in absolutely no hurry and was using the time to ponder on things, as is my wont and usual custom. However the taxi driver himself was apoplectic, repeatedly shouting out the window and cursing angrily despite the fact that I told him over and over that I as the client didn’t care about the delay.

But I understand his frustration. I too used to be trapped in a car all day. I know what it’s like to feel imprisoned in your seat, especially when you can’t even drive fast. I could’ve hopped out at any time and gone on my way on foot but he? He was stuck there. And that’s the kind of feeling that easily leads to a lot of frustration and rage.

I mention all this because thankfully Romania has long been mostly free of one particular kind of “development” for a long time that is sadly coming to an end – the lack of drive-through restaurants. Yes, yes, I know that I am probably the only person in the entire country who feels this way but I am quite sad to see that the multinational “food” chains are making a major move (Romanian) in this country, including the installation of drive-throughs.

An excerpt, translated by me:

Said to be as fast as [regular] fast food, these types of restaurants in the country are beginning a new phase of development – the drive-through.

They are opening several new Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants with drive-throughs (which will operate 24 hours a day in a system where you can order from your car – editor’s note) – this is one of the objectives of Mark Hilton, the new director of Yumi! brands in Romania (KFC, Pizza Hut and Pizza Hut Deliver). The process began in 2009 with the first drive-through KFC in Sibiu.

The rest is all about how gosh darn wonderful and fucking awesome drive-through restaurants are and how Yum! brands (which also own Pepsi btw) are so gosh darn excited to open at least five new KFCs in Romania. Yeehaw! I see that 55,000 Romanians already choke down their crappy food per day in this country and that they just opened a Subway in Bucharest as well.

I’ve started to really notice that there are two Romanias – the people rich enough to own a car and with a “modern” lifestyle in which they no longer eat food prepared at home but will now be buying it and eating it in their own vehicle – and the Romania where people still wear homemade shoes and pump their water from a well and have never once used a computer. And I realize that it seems, like all “development” does, to be so super awesome and wonderful to live the “drive-through” lifestyle and definitely reject all of those old-fashioned quaint ways except for once in a while when you take a break from your iPhone life.

In fact, all of this (especially the drive-through KFC) reminded me of what two Germans had to say that I interviewed last year at the Medieval Festival in Sibiu:

Ah well, what can you do?

In much happier news, if you remember my post Boxes of Gold, I’m extremely happy to report that I heard from the guy running this project that they are sold out. Wow! I certainly hope this induces more of his neighbors to participate :)