In the Communist days, there was a tremendous frenzy to house people in cities in apartment buildings, each one known as a bloc (blawk). There is a classic Romanian film called The Death of Mr. Lazarescu. Totally worth seeing. There’s a line in there that I absolutely love, where Lazarescu’s female neighbor says “totuşi suntem la bloc” which translates to something like “we have to … Continue reading How to Negotiate and Survive the Romanian Bloc
Many years ago, I was in Brasov with a mixed company of native English and Romanian speakers at a bar. An associate of mine, a man from Ireland, was telling the group about how he had set up an elaborate fancy dinner in town for his then wife (now divorced). He had pre-paid for the meal, arranged everything with the wait staff and done his … Continue reading Slang Word of the Day: Degeaba
In my last post, you saw the word gagică (GAH-jeekah), the official definition of which can be found here (in Romanian). Coming from the gypsy language (hopa!), it originally meant a woman who was something of a mistress, concubine or “lover” as opposed to one’s wife or established partner. Over time it has evolved into something along the lines of a generic word for any … Continue reading Slang Word of the Day: Gagica
Ahhh….. years ago, when I first came to Romania (and I myself was an omnivore), I coincidentally met and recognized a woman although we’d never met before – she was the sister of someone I knew in America and the resemblance was quite striking. She spoke English very well and we began to talk and somehow we got on the topic of being a vegetarian … Continue reading A Vegetarian, Vegan and Raw Food Guide to Romania
Oh mercy, to understand Romanian mentality you’ve got to understand the custom of the pițipoancă (peetsy-poe-ankah) and the role she plays in society here. The normally verbose DEX has a very short definition of the word as a tanara usuratica, which translates literally to a “young, frivolous woman” however the most accurate translation in English would be something along the lines of a “bimbo”. Without … Continue reading Slang Word of the Day: Pitipoanca
All Things Romania 