Despite the Facebook, despite the Twitter, despite the literally thousands of wonderful and amazing Romanians who visit this site, talk about this site or link to this site, a tremendous number of visitors are drawn to this blog by searching for two things – “gypsy” and “Romania”. I’ve written about this (seemingly) hundreds of times, from their slang to their music to the Chocolate Chip … Continue reading Poor Widdle Racist Romania *sniff*
Ok it’s official. I’ll be flying into Bucharest for one day and one day only – December 15, next Wednesday. If you’d like to talk with me, sell my book, interview me, buy me a beer or anything else (in Bucharest) this is the time to do it. My contact details can always be found at the top of this webpage in the main menu. … Continue reading Bucharest Visit
I’ve already confessed to exactly where I was and what I was doing in December 1989 when Romania had their revolution. I was drunk, surly and in a foul mood and when my friend ran to me, breathless, saying they had just shot Nicolae Ceausescu on television, my reply was “Who? Never heard of him.” In the intervening years, I’ve spoken to lots of people … Continue reading How Romanians Got Cheated Out of a Revolution
Literally every single time I have ever phoned a taxi service to order a cab, this is exactly how the dialogue went: Me: O masina la adresa X, va rog. Dispatcher: *grumpy snorts into phone, says nothing, keys clacking for 30 seconds* Pe ce nume? Me: Sam Dispatcher: Ce? Me: Sâm ca sîmbata Dispatcher: Ah. *keys clacking, garbled radio traffic in the background for a … Continue reading Any Given Taxi
All Things Romania 