Dum dee dum, ho dee ho, I was just minding my business this week, reading through incredibly boring government announcements when I nearly fell out of my chair. Sometimes, it’s really easy to forget what a truly weird country Moldova is. The announcement I was reading is about the streamlining of 16 ministries into nine. So far, makes sense and sounds good. But as I … Continue reading The State Agency for the Protection of Morals
Whew, am I still alive? Apparently so :) Thank goodness! As you might have heard, I now have a job here in Moldova, and I’ve been having some real adventures. It is literally surreal to be back in an office environment after more than a decade of being a freelancer and working from home. I’m still super busy trying to balance my official job with … Continue reading The Iron Grip of Moldova
The other day, an attractive young woman in a dress and heels handed me an envelope. When I looked inside, I saw it was stuffed full of euros and (Moldovan) lei. What’s this? Am I being paid by Russian gangsters, the CIA, or some other nefarious group? Nah. The truth is that I now have a “real” job, one that is the most illegitimate bunch … Continue reading Adventures in Legitimacy
Oh mercy me. Look, I get it that a lot of people in the Republic of Moldova feel very Romanian, and want to get a lot closer to Romania, maybe even to the point of joining the two countries together as one country. But that’s no excuse for this level of fantasy historical revisionism. Note: the link goes to an English-language blog of an American … Continue reading Agitprop Redux
Ah yes, time to once again dip into the bizarre contents of the messages that I receive! Note: as per my privacy policy, the names of the innocent and not so innocent have been protected. Sam, you’re being paid by the Russian government to write pro-Russia articles! Really? That’s about the funniest comment I’ve received in a long time. I’ll note that I’ve also been … Continue reading Mailbag
All Things Romania 