Last week the U.S.A. and Romania held a joint training exercise called "Exercise Sniper Lance". Though the Mig-21 is hardly a match for the F-15, the exercise provided a realistic training environment according to this Stars and Stripes story.
I would have loved to have been hanging around Mamaia or Mihail Kogalniceanu Airport for this…
F15 flyby with Full Afterburners and vapour trails.
Originally uploaded by Argyll.
Fair or not, American’s are perceived throughout the world as being uneducated, especially in the area of culture. I’ve heard recently that this is a popular belief in Romania as well. So in the interest of raising cultural awareness, your assignment is to watch this video and then investigate the links below…
This video describes a world without Romania, in which we might be missing:
-The fountain pen invented by Petrache Poenaru
-Cybernetics, first imagined by Ştefan Odobleja
-Insulin, first discovered by Nicolae Paulescu
-Jet airplanes and supersonic flight By Henri Coandă
-The first "Perfect 10" in gymnastics and inspiration to millions of girls, Nadia Comaneci
-Dracula a.k.a. Vlad Tepeş
-The Encylcopeida of Religion by Mircea Eliade
-The Merry Cemetery, pictured here
-Baseball? Before there was baseball, there was a 14th century game called Oina
-Beautiful girls, wonderful food and drink… stop by for dinner sometime, I’ve got some evidence!
Once again the Romer!can nails a favorite topic of mine and says it all way better than I could ever hope to. Check out his post on Romanian Resourcefulness and you’ll surely pick up on some of the more endearing traits of the Romanian people. Here are some quotes from his post:
"…Don’t turn the heater on; wear something warmer. Don’t take a taxi;
you’ve got two legs. Don’t order delivery; there’s leftovers in the
fridge.""…Romanians can be crafty and wily, which is a double edged sword in
business. Yet, for the interpersonal happenstances of life, there’s no
better friend to have in your corner than a Romanian.""Yessir, a Romanian is all you need. He’ll never say die."
Romanians: living the "Get ‘er done!" philosophy for 2000 years.
c.629 year old castle. Well maintained. Completely renovated to be a summer residence between 1920-1930. Move right in and enjoy this light, open floor plan with Vaulted
Ceilings. Secret staircases throughout. Master
Bedroom has Vaulted Ceiling and secret door. The
private master bathroom has beautiful lighting and a vaulted ceiling.
Forth bedroom in lower level is great for guests,
children or roommates. You’ll find the lower level charming with a damp, dark, dungeon-like feel,
newer exterior paint in the last few years which adds a fresh NEW feel to this wonderful home. Also enjoy the
Upgraded Light Fixtures and Faucets, NEW Interior Paint, a gorgeous
fireplace, basement with TONS OF STORAGE, Lighted
Landscaping with LOTS of potential, Well, Patio AND Upgraded
Deck, with stairs to the yard. Check out the AWESOME VIEW of the
neighborhood. Priced to sell at $78 million USD.
Related:
Dracula castle too expensive for Romania
On January 1, 2007 Romania and Bulgaria officially became part of the European Union. The EU has grown to 27 countries since it began forming in 1951 and now has over half a billion people.
Here’s the BBC story on the topic.
Entering the EU will bring some changes to the Romanian culture. Here are a few that will affect me personally:
Borders with other EU countries have relaxed, which should make travel more convenient. When I last crossed the Romanian Frontier in 2000 it still had a very communist ‘feel’ to it.
Freshly baked bread must now be packaged professionally. I don’t like this one at all. I will miss handing my money to a cashier who shoves it into the cash drawer and then reaches up to grab a hot fresh franzela – all bare handed. This charming tradition never bothered me even though I was raised in an over-sanitized germ paranoid U.S.A.. Somehow the flavor and experience of eating fresh hot bread while walking home from the bakery outweighs the sanitary depravity.
The EU requires that all Zoo’s meet specific humanitarian standards which has forced Romania to close nearly all of it’s 35 Zoo’s to the public. So I guess I won’t be able to feed the bears at the mini-zoo in Poiana Brasov anymore (yes that’s my hand feeding the bear):
My in-laws will no longer be allowed to kill their food the traditional way, that is killing the animal with a knife and butchering the meat themselves. By law they now have to electrocute, tranquilize or shoot it while an inspector observes. I’ve actually participated in the traditional method killing of a pig, and though it was gruesome, it is very necessary for survival for a lot of Romanians.
Hopefully, the necessity of having "gifts" available to "thank" corrupt public workers for doing what they are supposed to do anyway will soon be a thing of the past. I will not miss extortion.
More on Pigs and Bribes here: EU Will Consign Romanian Traditions to History
Hopefully, services and utilities such as police, ambulance, fire, hospitals, trash, water, sewer will start to modernize. I’ve had bad experiences in all of the above areas. I should probably blog about some of them… For now, you can read about an experience similar to one I had regarding fire and trash by visiting a blogger that I enjoy reading known as the Romer!can:
