If you’re coming to Romania and you’re either 1) trying to save a little money and/or 2) wanting to eat incredibly fresh food, you need to listen up. The word in Romanian is piata (pee-ahtza) which just means “market” or “square” or “plaza” or lots of other things. In this case, think of a “farmer’s market” in which fresh meat, dairy, vegetables and fruit are … Continue reading How To Survive a Romanian Piata
Well I don’t know the exact date but right around 2 years ago, my little grey cat baby was born in Brasov. I wasn’t there for the event itself but that’s a shot of my little girl right after she was born. She spent the first 90 days growng up with her brothers and sisters in Brasov but above is a photo of the little … Continue reading Happy Birthday, Noodles!
Oh my goodness, this is easily my favorite manele song at the moment. It has not just the all-time manele king, Nicolae Guta but also the wonderful Denisa. Awesome on their own, they are unstoppable when singing together. So without further adieu (click here if it doesn’t load): Singer Romanian Literal English Regular English Denisa De cand ti-ai dat jos mustata From when you have … Continue reading De Cand Ti-Ai Dat Jos Mustata
Since I noticed a lot of people have been coming to my post about the Romanian slang word “hopa”, I thought I’d add this brief little true story from my life. Date: A couple of days ago Scene: Inside Auchan, a huge chaotic discount store, near a large pallet piled high with cases of beer. Characters: “Bogdan”: A slightly short man in his 40’s with … Continue reading Real Life Hopa
When I first learned this language (in 37 easy steps), it was extremely difficult to get English-language books on how to learn Romanian. Now there’s a lot more material out there, really good stuff (including Wikipedia). Unfortunately, there’s always going to be two kinds of Romanian – regular “law books” Romanian and “two ladies jabbering over a fence in a village” Romanian. And to live … Continue reading It Depends on What the Meaning of the Word “Is”, Is
