Romanian Habits

Even though Romania may be regarded as quite behind as compared to its Western peers, one my find that Bucharest is a cosmopolitan city. Romanians are like a dry sponge when it comes to borrowing foreign habits (good or bad), so no matter what your country of origin is, you might find yourself strangely at home here. Once you got accustomed to the environment, of course.

Romanians celebrate the usual Christian holidays like Christmas and Easter (it's a Christian Orthodox country), and quickly adopted, though not officially, some international celebrations such as Valentine's Day, Halloween, 4th of July, Oktoberfest, the Chinese New Year. We have yet to introduce Diwali and Mardi Gras - we're working on that.

We are indeed a nation that just loves to party. The louder, the better. The more food, the (even) better. Also, the drinking business is huge, Romanians got a lot of respect from some peer drinkers from around the world. Of course we have a national Romanian drink - that's "tuica" (or palinca, in Transylvania), a strong spirit obtained from plums, traditionally. Some country fellow from the countryside may claim that tuica is best consumed in the morning with bacon and onion by the grounds that this combination may lower the cholesterol. Apart from spirits, Romania has a good tradition in wines - some of the better brands out there: Murfatlar, Jidvei, Cotnari, Recas.

When it comes to eating habits, you're prone to gaining a few pounds if you live in Romania for a while, and even in case you're just visiting. Romanians are proud of some (supposedly) traditional dishes, but they can actually be found in similar versions in the neighbouring countries. What differs is the cooking technique.

For example, there's polenta (mamaliga) - something like a thick maize flour porridge, which is delicious with cheese, smoked bacon, sour cream and fried egg (sunny side up - optionally). As a side dish, it's preferred with another pride and glory of Romanian cuisine, "sarmale" (rolled cabbage leaves with minced meat inside) - replace the meat with rice and you have a Turkish dish. Replace the cabbage with vine leaves and you got a Greek version. There's plenty of variation, but eating sarmale with mamaliga is a must.

Also, keep in mind that there's no traditional outdoor party without a barbecue or grill. What's usually prepared there are (in)famous "mici" - a sort of hamburger, not flat, but cylindric, like a roll. Add mustard, white bread and plenty of beer and you have a perfect bucolic bbq.

It is not unlikely that some of the average people living in BUcharest will eat out at McD's and go socializing at the mall, dressed by the latest trends of hip-hop videos. The not so average ones though wake up in the morning, drive about 100 m into the first traffic jam, swears heartily, arrives late for work, stays there 8-10 hrs, then goes out. Nothing different here, it's the same like everywhere in the world, we reckon.

There's a huge variety of pubs, restaurants and clubs to choose from. (Smoking is still allowed in most public places)

If there's a football match going on, the city usually is deserted. If we win, take cover, 'cause there's a flash mob about to tread all over the place.

Speaking of traffic jams, there is only one rush period in the capital. It lasts roughly from 8 am to 8 pm, with occasional downfalls. Drivers are just as bad as they are in Italy, and just as many as fish in the sea.

Apart from minor faults, bottom line is that people here are quite friendly and welcoming, eat, drink and... sleep well, they are quite communicative, they like big happy celebrations for any occasion, also like to jostle and push, will form crowds or long irregular lines for anything, and they're fun to study from a distance.