Just like my mum cooks better than your mum, I can’t be objective concerning my country.
While standing in line in the Vienna airport I was deep in thought while looking at a young Buddhist monk wearing a traditional garment, accompanied by a very beautiful woman. The dream state was broken by the charming approach of a group of noisy women. They were restless, flurried and pleasant, and when they started to ask questions in broken English I burst into laughter.
I like colorful people and, since I met most of them in Romania, I like it here.
I like cultures that overrate themselves and, since Romania is the most familiar to me, I like it here.
Any culture establishes itself as a center, a pole of interest for a certain community. Thus, any worthwhile display is inflated to glorious size and not justified in an objective manner. We have a good movie, we squeeze it as much as possible and it was successful all over the place and it’s a rebirth of Romanian cinama and etc. When we use the exceptions to fuel our desire that they become the rule, you can recognize a culture that overrates itself. It’s just a phase (sometimes to be blamed), but it pushes things forward.
I like blazing, confident and beautiful women, and since most of them are Romanian, I like it here.
I like the noise, the bustle, the turmoil and, since you can find them all here, I like Romania.
I like Eliade and Culianu and, since they were Romanian, I like Romania.
I like the national footbal team and I like the national women’s handball team.
I like our youth.
I like that we are a bad-tempered nation, that we move (good, bad) and exist.
I like that we badmouth each other, but God forbid some outsider dare criticize us.
I like that it’s easy to get a conversation started with a Romanian. It’s so easy to find a common subject: football (Steaua, Dinamo, Rapid, the local and national teams), politics (politicians, corruption, recent scandals), sex (women in general, local characteristics - Moldova, Ardeal, Bucharest etc.), being Romanian (it’s difficult, it’s easy, wait till you see how it is abroad, I have a daughter in Canada, we’ve always been like this, I met someone from your town etc.)
I like that it’s not easy being Romania. It’s an eternal challenge.
Original post: here (RO).
Adrian is a brilliant Romanian blogger ranting about philosophy, time and women.
April 5th, 2008 at 9:33 pm
I believe that you start to love your country when you see that there’s no better place than *home*. and to be really sure of this, you have to see other countries too :P
June 20th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
well…i so wanted to emigrate. i was in the states and dreamed of stayin there forever and ever and ever…i changed my mind, though.
i like romania too.
but as A. Faith said, u stillneed to see other countries too to realize how great your own country is.
June 25th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
I totally agree! I never missed Romania more than I do now…
September 4th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
I have to say that this article almost made me cry!I miss Romania and I realize now that I will never be the same and that nothing could possibly satisfy me more than being surrounded by romanian people! My country is my soul!
September 17th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
I agree with all of u. Romania is a great country. And nowhere is better then home. But two years ago i visited Budapest. I loved that city from the first minute. I dream to move there in a few years. I want to make a home there too… Don’t you want to buil a home somewhere else…?
November 7th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
all we love our land, it is normal, but personally I like Romania only if I go to visit but not more than 2 weeks.
November 21st, 2008 at 1:11 pm
I like my neighbors wt a slight Hungarian accent; I like that I can hop over the over in less than an hour and check out the discounts in Hungary;
I like Cartarescu, even though his works are sooooo easy to read (I call them “train ride reads” …and yes, I read most of his books while riding a train, the irony)
I like the scenery when you pass by it at 50 km an hour
I LOVE my country!
November 23rd, 2008 at 7:55 am
I always want to know about Romania. It happens since i met a man from Iasi. He was very kind, but now, i dont know anymore where he is.