ROMANIA`S IMAGE: FOLLY OR ILL WILL? As I was passing by a church in my neighborhood the other day, I saw a woman beggar at the gate. Her face seemed familiar. I thought I had seen her before and, a few steps later, I had remembered where: she looked like an old woman – she seemed to be a gypsy - whose face had been all over TV in the days that followed immediately after the European Parliament elections in the spring of 2009. There’s no surprise I had remembered her: the image of this woman pushing her ballot into the ballot box was featured in the Der Spiegel German newspaper, which had in its turn taken it from the BBC website. It was part of the “Europe in Pictures” section, together with other images which were considered specific of EU countries, in which citizens were exercising their right to vote on that day. Austria, for example, was represented in photographs of students, and Germany through a group of men in Bavarian costumes. When Romania had its turn, the image of this lady voting, with the Romanian flag behind her, appeared together with the following explanation: Romanian lady voting. Two days later, the photograph was withdrawn from the site. I was then in for a shock, as I hea... Read More >>
In Romanian tradition, the day dedicated to love is Dragobete day – the 24th of February, when Orthodox Christianity celebrates the Finding of the Head of Saint John the Baptist. Mythically similar to Eros or Amor/Cupid, Dragobete is the son of Dochia and the god of youth, love and love of life. Handsome man and a womanizer, he was considered a cosmic godfather who, in the heavens, united in marriage all animals at the beginning of spring. Then he married all men. That is why, on Dragobete Day, boys and girls meet, so that their love might last forever, like that of some birds – messengers of the gods – getting engaged the same day.
Between the winter celebrations we are still reminiscing about, and those of spring which are coming closer, are the celebrations of love. The month of February brings with it Valentine’s Day – a western celebration readily embraced by some Romanians (especially the younger ones), or regarded with hesitation by others who see it as a commercial, superficial and tacky celebration. And, in February we have the “Dragobete”, the traditional Romanian celebration of love.
FASHION CONCEPT STORES “Fashion is usually a collective habit, specific for a certain social environment at a given time. The term “fashionable” generally applies to a person wearing clothes or accessories which are part of the current fashion trend, even if fashion includes several branches. Fashion changes very rapidly; it is enough if, at a given time, someone discovers something better and more beautiful, in order to make everyone want that product, as fashion changes with an incredible speed.” This is the definition the Internet gives us through the widely accessed Wikipedia encyclopedia. Overall, it is an attempt to somehow generally cover the term of fashion. It significantly covers a reality we face in our everyday lives in any context and at any time, which can be regarded as a phenomenon that is as wide as it is complex. Fashion defines us as people and in terms of our individuality, but it also defines us socially, as it can be one of the key elements in rebuilding the specificity of an epoch. Today, it is a huge industry, a sophisticated cultural construct, beyond its practical dimension. Read More >>
GLOBAL WARMING IS REAL! - FEBRUARY 2010
Global Warming is REAL! February 2010 Through its Romanian branch, WWF - The Danube-Carpathian Mountains Project, and the CD PRESS Publishers - through the Terra Magazin, Doxi and Pipo educational magazines, the International World Wide Fund for Nature Organization launched an educational project and the national competition “Schools for a Green Future” on January 4th 2010, which will continue until May 31st. The project started from the idea that school should be a place where everyone considers the well-being of others and a better and cleaner future, on a planet where people live in harmony with nature. The aim of the project is to teach pre-school children, students, the educational staff, parents and local communities about the current environmental problems, as well as to develop responsibility amongst children towards the community and the environment in which they live and learn. Find out more at www. port.ro . Read More >>
Although I have been coming to Bucharest for many years, since 1993 to be exact, and have been here in all kinds of weather, this week ( january 18-23) has been my first experience with a lot of snow. I have been impressed how the City has continued to function normally, while facing what seems to me to be at least 10-12" of snow. Public transportation, schools, offices are all operating normally. We even had a tour of Bucharest yesterday, with an undaunted visitor.
The City is divided into 6 Sectors, and while I have heard that not all Primars (sector mayors) have been equally efficient, I have been amazed by how effective the snow plowing and street salting has been, in the areas I have driven through. Of course, traffic moves more slowly, but the snow contributes somehow to a quieter ambiance. Drivers are more patient with each other, I have hardly heard a car horn in the last fews days!
Bucharest, the capital of Romania, covers some 228 sqkm and, although it is not part of any county, it has a population larger than any of the 41 counties (judete) of Romania. The city is divided into six sectors. Each sector has it own Primaria (city hall) and is administered by a an elected mayor with local councilors. The General mayor governs all the sectors of the City from the City Hall of Bucharest. This article which introduces the long and meandering history of the city is the beginning of a series of articles each of which will be dedicated to one „sector” of the City. The following articles will guide you, our reader, to the must-see sights of each sector, and also present the quiet, hidden gems which escape the casual eye and which give an air of authenticity, those „sincere” places that the 21st century has yet to turn into glass and concrete constructions, and where people still follow an old way of life. The Bucharest of today lies in the great Romanian plain, but one thousand years ago it was the Great Romanian Forest, which covered the lands from the Carpathian Mountains to the Danube. Its nam...
Bucuresti What, Where, When
