It has been a while since I posted a blog, so I think it is time to share a few more observations about the city that I've been in for about a month now.
First and foremost, keep in mind that these are just my observations and that my experience here is very limited. To date, I've only been in Bucharest, no where else in the country; though after New Years I want to go up to Brasov. Further, the people I have been associating with are no, by any definition, your "average" Romanians. Basically the people I've primarily associated fall into three general groups: young, university-educated Romanians that I met through CouchSurfing; people I met through the hostel I was at that include many other foreigners and a few well-traveled and worldly Romanians; and the people I met at the British/Irish expat bars, most of whom are older, professional and view Romanian society from a strictly outsider perspective (and a few Romanians who happen to like associating with this crowd). So obviously my observations are bound to be biased and grossly incomplete.
When I first got here, it was just before National Day, December 1, (think of our July 4) so my initial impression was of national flags hanging from every open place and serious nationalism. Though this initial impression was mistaken, being just a matter of my timing, most Romanians do seem fairly nationalist in outlook. This does not seem to translate into anti-foreign sentiment – in fact most Romanians I've met seem happy when Westerners at least take an active interest in their country and culture – but finds expression in a general disdain for national minorities (the Hungarians in the north that refuse to learn Romanian & the Gypsies especially). I've never been to the north and know nothing about the Hungarians. As for the Gypsies, I firmly reject the notion that everyone that belongs to a particular group must by definition be the same; nevertheless I do grant that I can understand the anti-Gypsy sentiment. This is just because at least here in Bucharest the only Gypsies you see are the beggars, prostitutes, pimps, and con men that are undeniably out to rip you off one way or another. In a way it almost makes me want to volunteer with one of the NGOs that work with the Roma (the proper name for the Gypsy people) just to see how "the other half" of this community lives. All of this notwithstanding, realistically I avoid the Gypsies on the street just as vigorously as most Romanians do.
Romanians here tend to take a lot of pride in their country and its accomplishments and like to show foreigners the highlights; but at the same time they are by far the harshest critics of the place. If you were to just listen to Romanians talk about the city of Bucharest in particular, you would think it was the worst place in the world; but realistically none of the problems they point out are unique to here and Bucharest certainly isn't as bad a place as say Mexico City or even Detroit. In a way I suspect this harsh criticism is almost preemptive: "I know you are going to be critical, so I'll be more critical before you can say a word; that way we don't have to talk about it." Fair enough, but it also gets somewhat oppressive after a while; as far as I can tell (and again, perhaps I am horribly wrong here) the place just isn't that bad. The actual problems cited – government corruption, bad contractors never getting anything done, the infrastructure being too weak to support the population, crazy traffic, taxi drivers out to rip you off, and so on – just are not unique to Bucharest at all. Perhaps in some instances the problems are more pronounced here than in many others places, but not unique.
By EU standards, the country is still quite poor and the average wage is something like €200.00 per month. Further there is a very clear wealth divide between the "haves" and "have nots" with only a limited middle class. The country has fallen prey to a lot of Western speculators, which has only undermined over all confidence in Romania's ability to function within the EU framework. There is also a quite understandable (in view of historical circumstances) lack of a solid "work ethic." By this I don't mean to suggest that they are lazy or anything like this, it is just they don't seem to have much appreciation for many work-related matters that are simply absolute necessities in many Western places: showing up to work on time (or at all), actually getting the job done, the idea of customer service as a device for keeping your business (and thus your job) up and running against the competition, and so on. In view of the Stalinist past here – which isn't all that long ago – all of this is understandable and I also think it will all fade away as all these young, university-educated young people take over the place in the next decade or so.
Despite the very real problems, I am also very optimistic about how things will improve here.
In the near term, I think the global recession and chaos in the financial markets will help Romania. Since much of the financial sector here is dominated by foreign institutions, many of the domestic institutions weren't really tied into the financial mess in the West and are in reasonable shape. In the West, the big money is now looking for places to invest in tangibles since the financial markets are inevitably going to be extremely volatile for some time to come and Romania (with its EU membership) looks like a good option in many respects. Further, much of the "brain drain" Romania suffered – its best and brightest fleeing abroad for higher wages – is likely to reverse now that times are tough (and getting tougher) in the West and they have the option of returning home with their Western money in hand and doing very well for themselves here. Finally, the EU has made it clear that it will be investing a lot here – especially in infrastructure and governance (think anti-corruption & best practices) – to get the place up to standard by the time Romania is scheduled to fully integrate into the Schengen Zone in 2011. In fact, i know from the expat places the EU is already doing this and a lot more will be coming. Look at the wonders the EU did for Ireland; Romania is on the short list to be the next major beneficiary.
In the long term, people here really want things to improve and these young university graduates – most of whom are presently under 24 or so – are the ones who are going to make this happen. They were born and raised in the post-Stalinist era, they take seriously the notion that they can accomplish whatever they want, and in a way it almost seems like they want to show their parents that another world is indeed possible, at least here. There is a degree of energy and enthusiasm about these kids that I just don't see in the States or elsewhere and I think this will pay off in the end. They're still 20 years off taking over the place, but I think they're changing it already and I think they'll continue to do so.
So where do I fit into all of this? Frankly, at this point I don't. Nevertheless I am optimistic about the future of this place and honestly believe that the country is just too populous, too large, and too important within the framework of the EU to fail; and rest assured almost every Romanian will laugh in your face if you say this to them BUT seem to like to hear it anyway. I see – perhaps foolishly – Bucharest as an ocean of energy and vibrancy, my goal is to catch a wave on it that I can ride through getting my legal EU permanent residency. Unlike places in the West, there is still a lot of opportunity for the creative entrepreneur here, many niches that haven't been filled. I am exploring these niches to see what, if anything I can do.
Perhaps everything I wrote here is completely wrong and I'll take it all back at some point in the future, but this is how I see things here now.
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