When I was a kid, we considered it the height of hilarity to refer to someone as “four eyes”. In modern terms, we thought this was a “sick burn,” but all it means it that the person wears glasses (spectacles). Not all that original, I know. In Romanian, however, saying ochii-n patru means something completely different. Literally translating to “eyes in four,” it’s the exact … Continue reading Four Eyes
Many, many years ago in Romania, I had to open a bank account for reasons that I can’t remember right now. Everything was going fine until the bank employee asked me for my profession. I tried to explain that I work from home over the internet, something that wasn’t really well understood at the time. I didn’t quite understand why I needed to declare my … Continue reading Gospodar, Gospodina
My friend Matt recently published an excellent primer on weddings in Romania (and Moldova), and it reminded me of one of the weirdest episodes of television ever broadcast in the United States. Way back in 1985, at a time when Romanians were suffering from severe energy and food shortages in an effort to pay back IMF bankers, over in America, a soap opera about silly … Continue reading The Moldavian Wedding Massacre
As you know, I’ve been answering a lot of general interest questions on Quora lately, but I also get some questions that simply can’t be answered in that forum. If you’ve come to Romania and overstayed your visa, I’m going to tell you everything I know, but you must understand two very important things. One, I am not a lawyer. Two, none of what I … Continue reading What You Can Do When You’ve Overstayed Your Visa in Romania
The Unsleeping Eye, as is its wont, sometimes goes down interesting paths. The other day, it led me to the OSCE‘s online presence. The OSCE has an office a 2-minute walk from my house, and they’re quite active in these parts because of PRM (Transnistria), so I was curious what they had to say about the country where I now live. Along the way, I … Continue reading Limba de Stat
All Things Romania 