Found a lovely new blog from an American here in Romania who is really enjoying her time here. Probably my favorite quote from her curiously-written last post: You will realize that, as of now, this blending in will be both to your advantage and terribly problematic. It helps because everyone speaks to you in Romanian because they think you are and therefore assume you understand. … Continue reading Kibbles and Bits: March 8, 2011
Whew, mercy! On Saturday I got hit by a powerful head cold, which completely knocked me off my feet. Luckily, The Woman was around to give me some TLC and I feel a lot better now. Although she stuck to more modern treatments, my illness reminded me of a very Romanian cure that I used a few years ago. First, you need some good homemade … Continue reading The Romanian Sniffling Sneezing Coughing Aching Stuffy Head Fever So-You-Can-Rest Medicine
Sticking to some of the easier parts of Romanian grammar, there is a curious construction involving personal pronouns. Although the forms used are standard Romanian, this particular bit of syntax comes straight from Slavic languages. What am I talking about? A venit la mine In the above sentence, “la mine” (literally at my or perhaps at me) actually means “my house” or “my apartment” or … Continue reading A Venit La Mine
Weird, weird and even weirder: Watch the local Arizona news station videoclip here. Romanian government press release here, including this Youtube footage (w/o sound): From the (American) DEA official website: Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Michele M. Leonhart and Preet Bharara, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today the unsealing of charges against seven defendants for conspiring to provide various … Continue reading DEA, Taliban, Missile “Sting”
There’s plenty of confusing elements to Romanian grammar but luckily one of the easier parts is constructing comparatives. What am I talking about? More All you do is add the word mai (more) to any adjective. Verde – green. Mai verde – Greener Bun – good. Mai bun – Better Inalt – tall. Mai inalt – Taller Dulce – sweet. Mai dulce – Sweeter Less … Continue reading When Less is More (Less)
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