Considering how I am not much of a fan of Harry Potter (I’ve only read one book from the series – and never seen a single film), it’s amazing just how often the author J.K. Rowling continues to intertwine with my own life. This summer, on a burning hot day when I was tired, scared and deeply lost inside of a country where I don’t … Continue reading The Poorest Country in Europe
Yesterday I mentioned the money here in Moldova but now it’s time for a full post on the topic. As I said, you can tell a lot about a country by its money. Let’s see what it has to say! Background Moldovan money is called the leu (singular) or lei (plural). Just like its neighbors in Bulgaria and Romania, the name literally means “lions”. Why … Continue reading Markovian Parallax Dengi-rate
The other day I posted a short piece about my adventure at the bank and the topic of money laundering came up and it was pretty obvious that this is a mysterious subject that’s not well understood. If you’re one of those people who don’t understand money laundering (in Romanian it’s called “spalare” or “washing” of money), don’t feel bad. There’s a famous scene in … Continue reading Money Laundering for Beginners
I know most Americans and a lot of “westerners”, particularly at high levels of governments, are currently thinking Putin got away with murder. Somehow he “stole” Crimea in the blink of an eye and now there’s nothing we can do about it. He outfoxed us and now we’re flaring our nostrils and trying to drown our sorrows. But in reality that’s not how our grandchildren … Continue reading Once and for all, what REALLY happened in Crimea
Oh lord, if there’s one thing that makes me laugh, it’s my own foolishness. Just a few days ago I was writing about confirmation bias and last night I realized that I too had fallen into this trap. Since January 1, as you know, I’ve been undergoing intensive language training in Russian. With all the events ongoing in Ukraine, it’s been a boon for me … Continue reading Bunicuta de Aur
All Things Romania 