A Look Back

I had to think for a bit today when I had to write my testimonial for the CS Bucharest, about what the activities I had been doing meant to me in the large scheme of things. Here is what I came up with:
While my internship only lasted from mid-May through June 2010, I feel like I got a good idea of what it is like to work in all aspects of the Commercial Service. While here, I worked on a wide variety of projects ranging from preparation for trade fairs and presentations, to arranging one –on-one meetings between Romanian and American companies. This internship was very useful in that it allowed me, not only to apply concepts that I have learned in the classroom, but also to gain knowledge about the Romanian market. This was due to the fact that I was able to participate in the publication of the market sector reports and export success reports on a variety of industries. Through this, I was able to further my understanding of one of my areas of special interest, the Eastern European Infrastructure market.The staff at the commercial service is made up of consummate professionals. I was one of the youngest interns they have ever had, but I never felt as if anyone held that against me. In fact, I feel like many of them took me under their wing and really showed me the ropes. Spending my summer break here definitely improved my professional and networking skills. My time at CS Bucharest also allowed me to have the amazing experience of living in Romania for the time I was here. Romania is a very friendly country, and life in the capital city is quite pleasant, and I will miss the country now that it is time to go. I originally chose to apply for this internship, as I felt it would give me well-rounded experience in my specific field of interest. It definitely did not disappoint. I would recommend this internship to anyone interested in pursuing a career in the field of International Business, or Economics in Eastern Europe. The Internship has a good deal of public relations value as well. As the Embassy is moving to a different office, there is some question as to whether there will be a spot for an Intern in the new office. I hope the program continues so that many others can have the experience. It is time well spent.

What I Did

My Internship ends tomorrow so here's a look at what I have done over the past six weeks.
Gold keys:
PPI and Sekai: aided in preparation for one-on-one meetings between Romanian and American companies. This included designing the agendas, and working with Romanian companies to finalize the plans through a variety of media. I also prepared the materials for a good deal of the meetings, and organized contact info and promotional materials afterwards.
Trade fairs:
Infocomm: Invited delegations from various firms and government institutions to the American tradeshow.
Eurosatory: Took part in Monia Eremia’s preparations to attend the Paris convention. This included formulating the schedule, and organizing the necessary materials. I organized contact data after her return from the event as well.
In addition to this, in my day to day work at CS Bucharest, I often prepared materials for various other meetings and trade missions, including the one in Moldova.
Webinar: I Took part in all steps of publishing and presenting a webinar on the current status of the Romanian Energy industry. This included handling most all correspondence with representatives from industry firms; inviting them, and overcoming concerns, and/or difficulties they had with registration. I also provided them with the registration materials for the webinar, and correlated information on the attendees. Follow up communications were handled by me.
Single company promotion:
Optaros : took part in preparation for the kick-off networking meeting for the aforementioned electronic services provider’s operations in Romania. This included coordinating the attendance of guests from various firms. I attended the reception, and aided in making sure that it ran smoothly.
Export Successes and public relations:
While here, I took part in drafting a good deal of Export Success reports, and current happenings articles for the CS Bucharest website. I worked with passages in a variety of sectors including Healthcare, industrial infrastructure equipment and the energy and water infrastructure industry.
Market sector reports:
I had a hand in preparing multiple market sector reports for publication. This included both editing the reports and updating the information in them. This was one of the most educational aspects of my internship, as through doing so I gained knowledge of various market sectors in Romania. I worked in sectors including: energy, defense, and heavy machinery.
In some cases I preformed research to allow the defense and IT specialist to compare the Romanian report with those from other European countries.
Presentations:
While here, I edited an entire presentation regarding the current state of the Romanian water provision and treatment industry. This included both the spoken component of the presentation and the PowerPoint visual aids. Through doing this I learned a good deal about the Romanian water industry and the opportunities in that sector as a result of EU treatment requirements.
When the SCO gave a presentation to a group of graduate students I managed the guest list and the guests themselves at the actual presentation. Experience at the Front desk: For a two week period at the center of my internship, Monica Pascu was out of the office. For much of the time it fell to me to be the face of CS Bucharest. I was responsible for taking calls and welcoming delegations onto the premises for meetings.
Identifying New Business Opportunities:One of the ways in which I pursued my interest in the Eastern European energy market was to indentify the most viable service providers that may be interested in doing business in Romania. Making use of my experience with the webinar, I compiled the list of these companies.

Weird Stuff at The Grocery Store

Even after six weeks here, I still find going to the grocery store to be an experience. About a month ago I got turned on to Kaufland, which is an interesting hybrid of a normal supermarket, Costco, and a corner Romanian grocery shop. The aisles are large and well lit. In some areas the presentation of merchandise is well polished and in others it looks more like you’re in a warehouse. The vegetables are not hydrated or refrigerated, but this is because they are actually fresh. They are also not washed in chemicals before they make it to the shelf, and some produce still has the dirt from the farm on it. unlike in American stores you are responsible for determining the weight of your purchase, and printing the bar code. The store has an in house bakery and one of the largest delicatessen counters I have ever seen. But its offerings appear to change at random. And Items in the store are periodically sold out. The same actually goes for vegetables which come and go. One of the reason s I enjoy traveling so much is to experience these cultural differences. Some of the differences are rather interesting. For example, Romanians like soft cheeses, the cheese counter is filled with endless varieties of them, but to find parmesan, you have to go to the back of the store where they only sell three rather expensive brands. There is a large butcher’s counter, and 3 large meat cases, but they sell mostly salami. Fining pasta sauce is hard and when you do it isn’t cheap. Instead people buy tomato bullion and make it themselves. I have found that what I can make is better than any canned sauce.One last Example: I was looking in the champagne section for a bottle of Moldovan Spumant. Apparently the Romanians have discovered this, and they were out of it. So, I was scouring the shelves to see if I could discover a stray bottle when noticed something rather odd. Amid all of the other sparkling wines I noticed they were selling Hanna Montana (non-alcoholic) champagne. It looked so much like the other sparkling wines that I almost didn’t see it. When I saw this it was all I could do to keep from breaking down in an open fit of amazed laughter. But this does show a larger cultural difference. In mainstream America, any parent who bought something like this out of a store’s liquor section, for their young child would most likely be considered a bad parent. And in the Maldives, where I worked two years ago, there wouldn’t even be a liquor section to put it in. Suffice it to say, that sometimes the ways in which differences manifest themselves can be unexpected.

The Wrong Attitude

Eastern Europe often gets a bad reputation in America for being corrupt and for having edgy or rude people, while Western Europe is often seen as being developed and friendly. From what I have experienced in Berlin the opposite is closer to the truth. While all of the Germans I met personally are delightful people, I have had to deal with more bad attitudes in the past 3 days, than I have in the past month in Romania. This started about five minutes after I arrived in Berlin and looked for a place to eat. We had to try two places. The first had high prices and an extremely condescending waiter, to the point where we ended up walking out of the restaurant. The second place had even higher prices but we just decided to swallow them at that late hour. I was actually in sticker shock the whole time, but I think this is simply because of the higher price levels in Western Europe. I got ripped off at the St. Nicholas museum, when a woman with a bad attitude yelled at me for not having a ticket. I asked if the ticket was for the audio guide which I did not want. She said no, and then made me go to the counter and get an audio guide for three euro. It ran out of battery halfway through.
While there may be few correct signs in Romania, it is still easy to figure out how to go somewhere and what you are supposed to do through common sense, by looking at the layout of a building, the line, etc. In Germany things like the airport or subway system are so counterintuitive that it is hard to figure them out even with the signage. It’s even hard for Germans to figure out how to buy a subway ticket. While I was only in the Netherlands’ airport, it was even more counter intuitive. If this experience is any indication, Moldova is much nicer than much of the Euro Zone, yet the Moldovans get the bad rep! Suffice it to say I now have very little desire to go to the Netherlands. Beyond the passport control desk, my Tarom flight awaited me. While I did have an amazing time visiting Berlin, I was happy to be heading back east. The flight attendants seemed more pleasant than those on KLM. I sat next to a woman from Constanta, we struck up a conversation, and when I mentioned I had trouble taking the Bucharest bus system, she gave me a month long bus pass ( she was going directly back to Constanta) and told me how to take it. She also invited me to the Danube delta, when she next goes with her friends. Bottom line, the reputation for service in both the East and West seem undeserved. The good reputation for service and efficiency claimed by the West probably causes many travelers to be disappointed, and makes them assume that Service in the East is even worse. It’s not. If you want good respectful service, if not always a downright friendly attitude, head for Eastern Europe, it’s a great improvement over the West. At the very least, our Roma don’t harass you for money.

Berlin Part Deux

Next morning, I attended the optional trip to Potsdam. The trip was powerful, but enlightening. Most of the group is younger and very American, and decided to stay out late, and sleep through the morning, instead of choosing to see things that you can only see in Europe. The group that went was rather small but the trip was enlightening but again a bit saddening. Our first stop was the lake house where the Nazis planned the holocaust. The contrast between natural architectural beauty and the dark history of the location was chilling. We then continued on to the location where the post world war II Potsdam conference took place. The villa was made to look like a cross between an English castle and Bavarian country house. Inside we saw the studies of all of the delegates of the conference, as well as the famous ‘round table’ were Europe was carved up into the Easter and western blocs after the war. Our final stop was an baroque palace. The was the most lighthearted stop of our trip. The grounds were striking, and included a Chinese tea house, which bears no resemblance to Chinese architecture, but is quite beautiful. We headed back to the city for a free afternoon.Our afternoon started with an amazing Lunch near the river. We enjoyed freshly made bushetta, and the Spargel Ravioli I had went well with the world cup match that was on the television. After lunch, the Pamailion Museum, which is composed of entire buildings and fortresses that the Germans dismantled and brought from the Middle East? The displays were striking, both in scale and detail. I have heard that some of the home countries of these edifices want them back. However I question the wisdom of this. It seems to me that they are much better off in a climate controlled German museum, then disintegrating in the desert of the present day, unstable Middle East. Much of the group met up In order to see a cabaret which RIAS paid for. The show itself was rather mindless. Afterword I got to spend time the other members of the group. It was rater interesting to discuss with them their views on international foreign policy towards Russia, among other things.

Berlin Part I

The day before I went to Moldova I decided on a whim to go to Berlin. My mother is on a program there, so for me, it a relatively cheap way to see the city. After work on Thursday I went to the train station and took the transfer to the Airport. This is interesting, as the train actually drops you off in a corn field a few miles from the airport and then a minibus takes you the rest of the way, mostly over dirt roads. I connected through Amsterdam, and made it Berlin that night. Still, I had to get to the hotel using public transportation. Though the signs in Germany are both obvious and active, the actual system is so redundant and complicated that it is harder to figure out how to take unless someone tells you the lines and stops ahead of time. I got off of the subway and walked through Checkpoint Charlie on the way to the hotel. Next day the program my mother was on was going to spend the morning In a conference about the meaning of the Euro to the future. The meeting was right next to the Brandenburg gate, so I went there with the group and opted to sight see. Attractions included the German Parliament, and a piece of the Gdańsk shipyard wall, which was a memorial to the Polish Solidarność movement, for inspiring the East German resistance. I continued down the Unter Den Linden, which seemed rather sterilized and until I reached the Museum Island. The cathedral on the island is world class; it is rather large and very ornate. From there I moved on to the Alexanderplatz and the St. Nicholas church museum. After lunch at a bistro directly across the river from the stunning facade of the cathedral, I rejoined the group for a tour of the former Stasi Prison. On the way the bus passed through the Eastern Gallery and I go to see some actual standing pieces of the Berlin Wall. The actual tour of the prison was very powerful. The group’s guide was a member of the German Parliament. She explained to us the history of the prison under the Soviets, and then took us to the newer Stasi belt complex. Halfway through this tour she mentioned that she actually used to be a prisoner in this building. Needless to say, this was rather shocking. Towards the end of this tour, she also mentioned that the guards and interrogators all still live in the luxurious houses next to the complex which were given to them by the former East German government as part of their job. When questioned about the justice of their remaining in the houses, at no charge, to this day, the guide explained that there is actually a very good reason. “They’d have to go somewhere” she said “what if my former interrogator became my new neighbor? This would not be good for me”. After the tour the most of the group watched the U.S. - Slovenia world cup match. I took great pleasure in rooting for Slovenia. That night the entire group met with German journalists. I tagged along on my mother appointment, which took place at a nice restraint in West Berlin. The conversation was lively and very interesting. Later she drove us around her neighborhood, which is among the nicest in the city. The evening did not end until around midnight, and was thoroughly enjoyable.

More on the Financial Crisis

Protests resumed in front of the Palace of Parliament Yesterday. While the opposition television station tried to make it look as if they were breaking down the gate to the palace’s grounds, demonstrators remained non-violent. The protest took place as the parliament voted on a motion of ‘no confidence in government’ brought on by the proposed austerity measures needed to obtain a loan from the IMF. The vote was defeated by a narrow majority, but was met by shouts of protest from public spectators in the parliament’s viewing chambers. The results mean that Prime Minister Emil Boc has a mandate to legislate harsh salary, pension, and across the board budget cuts. While the current government remains in power, statistics show that less than 1/3 of the population supports Boc’s government. The coalition stands to lose when elections are next held. In my opinion, they deserve to. Their handling of the budget crisis has been first rate, considering the circumstances. However, it is important to remember that the government's over-spending and mismanagement caused the current crisis. The decision to cut the salaries and pension will only have great impact on one segment of the population. This minimizes the negative effect on the economy as a whole, when compared with other options such as raising taxes to pay down the debt. The government has chosen the lesser of two necessary evils, but neither would be required if they had spent within the country's means.

Office Writer

Most of what I do at the embassy involves preparing for various trade missions. When they are actually going on there is very little for me to do. Last week and yesterday, I helped with the prep-work for a trade mission to Moldova, and a trade fair in Paris. This mainly consists of making more spread sheets, business cards, and schedules. Today, half of the office is out, including the Boss, and Monica Erimia, the person who gives me most of my work. They are attending these events and there is very little for me to do. Yesterday, I copy-edited one of my colleague’s speeches, a report on the Romanian water industry. It was a spoken factual report, and I was in my element. The person I edited it for was amazed with the clarity and quality of the revised version. I edited a success report today, and the same person was floored. Through the editing process I learned a lot about the Romanian water industry. Apparently the industry is made up almost completely of privatized regional providers. There is only one provider that is a government–private partnership. However, the main stakeholder in the private utility firms is local government. There is currently a large push to modernize and expand water distribution and treatment felicities, in order to meet EU standards. As such, it is an attractive sector for American business. American companies must partner with a local firms to be competitive, as experience in Romanian markets is a large part of the bid evaluation process.The fact that the local government is the main owner of the regional utility companies can lead to some interesting gray areas. The water treatment firm in Constanta recently bought a helicopter, as it has many plants spread out over a distance. There was some disagreement in the media as to whether this represented a necessary corporate purchase, or local government officials using the profits to buy themselves a new toy.

News Stations

I’ve spent years around news organizations. So I am going to devote this post to the quality of the news outlets in the Balkans. The production values of the Romanian outlets are actually quite professional. However, the content is biased depending on the political party from which they draw their funds. People know which station is which, and you can get a balanced viewpoint by flipping between channels. Realitea TV, the station of the main opposition, looks the best. The lighting and camera moves look perfectly fine. Reporters doing live shots in the field are common. Some of the talent could use a bit of wardrobe help though. As is common in Romania the women wear scarves and it often makes them look as if they have no necks. The reports are very biased, but only once have I seen them cross the line into something that looks like outright anti-government propaganda (reporter not showing her face, making un-factual comments on the video and endless butted bites of protestors saying how much hated the government. The graphic read something like “Boc-hated by all”). Another station, OTP, seems to be a bit more factual, doing things to involve the audience like a phone-in poll on who still approves of the government here. Apparently 1/3 of people still do. They look rather professional. Pro-TV is the only network I have seen that could use some appearance coaching in Romania. They do not seem over zellously biased but have some issues: static, wide camera angles on the anchor. The weather man also gave the entire weather report standing in front of the chroma-key. Because of this reason they are not on too much in the office. The Moldovans could use a bit more help. First, their anchors and reporters read off of clipboards even when they are in the studio. They do not read off of them correctly either, taking small ‘sips’ of copy and then looking up. Therefore, they are not looking down and not at the camera; they do not look like they know what they are talking about. Their lighting could also use some work. People seem to be only lit from the front, or from one side, and have odd shadows on their faces. The camera angles are wide and static in the news studio. On talk shows, the changes between three camera angles (wide shot, tight on host, tight on guest) seem to have little regard for who is talking. At least they are changing them though. On Journal TV, one of the Moldovan stations, the people seemed orange. This many have just been the signal, but if not, the DP needs a talking to. I have not yet had a chance to take a good look at the Bulgarian stations. I will do that when I get to Sofia.

Stefan Cel Mare - Famous But Mysterious

In Bucharest, I live near Stefan Cel Mare Street, one of the city’s main avenues. He was a key historical figure in Romania, so I was surprised to see how much the Moldovans love him. He is on all Moldovan money, and his statue is in the city center(above). The main street of Chisinau is called Stephen Cel Mare. When I asked about this in Moldova, I was told he was a Moldovan king who conquered Romania (Moldavia and Trannsylvania). It seemed suspect to me that the Romanians would hold him in high regard as well if this were the case. When I asked in Romania, I was told he was a Romanian, who had Basarabia as part of his kingdom. Basarabia is apparently the term Romanians use for present-day Moldova when they want to underscore the fact that is really just another part of Romania, and this attitude why most Moldovans don’t much care for the Romanians. I did some looking on the internet. He was actually the ruler of Moldavia, which is the part of present day Romania that borders Moldova. He was born, died, and was buried in present day Romania. So by this definition he was, in fact, Romanian. However, at the time he was alive, ancestral Romania, or Wallachia, was a separate kingdom, while Moldova was part of Moldavia at the time. According to this, he was closer to being Moldovan. By the strictest deffinition, he was Moldavian and neither completely Romanian nor Moldovan. Bottom line: I’m confused on this one. He did delay the invasion of the Turks in the 14th century, so this gives both countries a reason to like him, regardless of where he was from, or who he conquered.

the Dacia

As I have previously stated Romanians often view western products as superior to what they make domestically. One major exception to this rule is their attitude toward cars. The local Romanian Dacia remains very common here. The Dacia was the official state-manufactured car during the communist regime and is one of the few that has been able to innovate and stay competitive after the fall of the iron curtain. Poloniz, Volga, and Lada, Yugo have gone out of business; only Dacia and the Czech Skoda have managed to continue as privatized companies. Skoda has enjoyed international success in recent year with a large market share in Europe(including Romanina) and rising popularity in China. Dacia, while not as much of a major player internationally, has continued to garner a sizable share of Romanian loyalty despite competition from western brands. The company retains a respectable 28% market share in Romania. This being said, Dacias are no longer a 100% Romanian product. The company now seems to be a branch of the French auto-maker, Renault, and all Dacias made in the past few years bear labels stating that the car is made “by Renault”. This may be partially responsible for the large number of new Renaults on Romanian roads. I almost wonder if Renault is planning to eventually harvest Dacia and take its market share.

On Moldovan Politics

Less than one percent of Moldovans approve of their president. Under the Moldovan system the people vote for the parliament, the members of which then vote for the president of the country. For a president to be selected a 60% majority is required. However, since the liberals came to power, the parliament has recently been unable to form a majority of this magnitude, and the current president is simply a placeholder. This president is apparently a Romanian nationalist, who refers to himself as a Romanian, not Moldovan. The major problem here is that most Moldovans actually like having their own country, and do not much like the Romanians whether or not they like Russia. He has also done everything in his power to distance the country from Russia. While I support the idea of Moldova favoring Europeanorientation, over a Russian orientation, the ways he has chosen to do so have been rather abrasive, and destructive to the country’s economy. For example; he refused an invitation to an international parade in Moscow, by essentially calling saying he sooner would have had the Nazis win WWII than the Russians. The Russians responded to his comments by doubling the price they charge Moldova for natural gas. Russia is the main export market for Moldova, any they cannot afford to lose its business. However the president’s actions are seriously damaging relations. Moldovans will have to vote the communist party back into power in order to appease the Russians. The Liberals know this, and are trying to change the constitution so that they cannot be voted out. Their attempts apparently lead Moldovan students to riot, and loot the Government Building. My guide said she thinks the riot was secretly organized by the Romanian government to destabilize Moldova. I’m not sure that I believe this, especially as the pro-Romanian party is currently in power. The ‘communist’ party isn’t as extreme-left as it sounds. In fact, they are more conservative than the Republicans in the U.S. Taxes under both regimes were 13% across the board. The liberals have also been spending more, on things like initiatives to teach the Romanian language to the Russian minority and translate all movies into Moldovan-Romanian (most all Moldovan popular culture is imported from Russia. I actually quite like the music). Because of this, they have actually repealed tax breaks that the ‘communists’ have been giving to small businesses. In reality, the Moldovan communist party is so called because it is the pro-Russia party. Russia was still the USSR when Moldova gained its independence in 1989. At this point they are going to have to continue kissing-up to the Russians to keep from damaging their economy. This east-west contrast can be seen throughout Chisinau. Russian-owned restaurants sport chairs and umbrellas labeled in Cyrillic with the names of Russian beer. While the Ethnic Moldovan own establishments that sport umbrellas in Romanian with the name of the local Moldovan Beer.

Why You Shouldn't Use The Euro

In addition to causing a country to lose a good deal of control over its own finances, the Euro also takes the fun out of traveling. In Eastern Europe many counties, if they are in the EU at all, are not yet eligible to adopt the Euro, or have simply chosen to keep their national currency in circulation. This makes traveling much more interesting. So far I have used the Romanian Leu, the Bulgarian Лев, and Moldovan Leu. This has definitely kept things interesting from an economic standpoint. Every place I go seems to have completely different price levels, thanks to having completely different amounts of the local currency in circulation. It can also be confusing at times; it can be hard to keep the fluctuating exchange rates straight. Sometimes I have difficulty remembering what currency I am using. This is made even more complicated by the fact that many larger priced items such as hotel rooms are quoted in Euros or Dollars, but paid on the receipt in the local currency. If nothing else it puts some of the mystique back into international travel that the Euro Zone has taken away. Also the lack of Euro, in most cases, means that your dollars go farther. This is especially true in Romania where the government has been printing money to stay solvent. The exchange rate has gone up from around 3.3 to almost 4 lei to the dollar, but businesses have yet to feel the impact of inflation and raise their prices. Some items at the store remain relatively expensive. The results of all of these currency fluctuations were clearly shown in my most recent telephone call with the person who owns the apartment I’m living in. The price of the apartment is quoted in Euro. In the months before my arrival he told me that I could pay in dollars, but was totally disinterested in Lei. Recently the Euro has slipped greatly against the Dollar, but has improved slightly against the rapidly inflating Lei. As he knows I am not paying in Euros, he told me that would rather be paid in Lei as the Euro is now worth much less against the dollar. I sternly informed him that I was still going to pay him in U.S. currency.

Moldova: small, but fun

My first day in Moldova was a whirlwind of sleep deprived sightseeing; I got off the train, found my hotel, and its on-site travel agency. I had an amazing lunch at a nearby restaurant, and in no time was off on a tour to the Circova Winery. The entire winery is situated about 15 km north of Chisinau. My driver drove me down into the series of about 150km worth of underground tunnels, some of which are more than a football field underground. The tunnels were originally limestone mines. The entire wine making and fermentation process takes place here. I was shown the fermentation and bottling process of Circova’s famous Spumant, or sparkling wine. It involves turning each bottle of produce by hand every day for weeks. A group of three Italians joined me , and we were taken to the cellars where the fine wine collections are kept. I was shown the collection of the second in command under Hitler, as well as the private collection of Vladimir Putin. Cricova also has the world’s oldest bottle of wine, a bottle of 1902 Easter Wine. It is the only bottle left in existence. I was shown the newly renovated tasting rooms, and the tour concluded with a taste of the winery’s product.
That afternoon I saw the center of Chisinau. Very little survived WWII, but the city is still very green, claiming to be the 3rd greenest capital city in the world, and has some beautiful Soviet-era buildings. It was very hot in Chisinau, but I stayed out sightseeing until 9pm. I stopped on the way back from my hotel at a crêpe restraint to pick up dessert.
Next morning I took private tour of Orhei Vichi. My guide was very friendly and taught me lot about the history, culture and political situation of the country. Orhei Vici This location is widely considered the most spectacular locale in Moldova for a reason. It consists of a deep but wide river canyon, a cave monastery and, and a local village, that calls the area home. The tour started with a stop at the ruins of a 13th century tartar fortress. My guide showed me around the cave monastery, including the church and the church and the monk’s cells. I had the chance to climb to the church’s copula (at the top of the hill) and make a wish on its cross, as is the tradition. We then walked through the village, and ate berries off of the fruit trees growing in the area.
That afternoon, I took a walk to the monument to the victory of the Red Army over the Nazis. The Park is very large with a number of socialist realist reliefs, and a flame burning in the middle. The park itself is a sight to behold, but what makes it truly amazing is that, whereas most monuments of its kind have been abandoned, this one is still in full operation. The flame is surrounded by flowers, and guarded by Moldovan soldiers. A wedding party was taking their wedding pictures there while I was in the park. It was a living time capsule and one of the most amazing Soviet sights I have ever seen. That evening I enjoyed another crepe with the U.S. v. England World Cup Match.
Sunday was my last day in Moldova, my train left at 4 but before departing I wanted to take look at one of it’s main lake-parks. I got lost, but was glad I did. I had an amazing walk. I found an unnamed, rather large park at the top of the hill, about a mile from the city center. and was able to get some spectacular views of the city, I then headed into the park. What I found inside represented a clash between the rural and Urban. Brand new mansions, situated next to farming huts with small farming plots and chickens, were situated along the park's edge. Further into the park, the foliage became so thick at points that the path disappeared, and then at random intervals, gave way into seemingly isolated rural mini-villages. I even saw cows grazing. About another 100 yards ahead, through a narrow path by a pristine stream, the way opened onto the lake I was looking for , surrounded by housing complexes, city joggers, luxury cars… And a farmer herding goats!
After this walk, I had one final lunch at a completely local restaurant, away from the main roads. They only had a few items on the menu, but they were cheap, excellent, and the service was good. I bought some snacks for the train at the former state-run department store and then got on the train back to Bucharest. I arrived exhausted, but immensely glad I went. I have wanted to go to Moldova for years, and it did not disappoint. The country is undeserving of its bad reputation. I intend to return.

Seeing Moldova, Russian Style

As a person who has spent some time in Eastern Europe, I get a certain amount of grief for my decision to learn Russian. Including from my Romanian colleges at the embassy. After my trip to Moldova I am immensely glad that I decided to do so. This is not because I have any great love for ‘Mother Russia’ but because I have often thought of the language as a kind of common linguistic currency in Eastern Europe nations. My trip to Moldova confirmed this view. If I had no knowledge of Russian I would have gotten ripped off or totally screwed on more than one occasion.
From the time I got on the train I essentially found myself in a speak-or–die situation. When the conductor took my return tickets I had to speak Russian explain the problem and get them returned. If I hadn’t been able to do this, I would have had to buy a completely new reservation in Moldova, if one was even available. I ordered most of my meals in Russian. It allowed me to get the local price many restaurants, as I was able to speak enough to get the local Russian –Romanian menu (English menus have double the prices, a common scheme in the Former USSR). Many times the wait staff didn’t speak English at all. Once I overheard a conversation between my waiter and his manager. I realized that they were trying to rip me off and walked out of the restaurant. I am of Slavic heritage and look a lot like the locals, so the authorities left me alone. But speaking Russian helped here too. After I gazed at a sculpture in the Soviet victory memorial a bit too long, a stern solder blew his whistle at me, and motioned for me to come over. I did so and innocently said “Что проблем” (what’s the problem). The soldier softened and said that nothing was wrong. Even though most people can obviously tell that my Russian is not that great there seems to be attitude among most Moldovans that if you speak you are an “o.k.” person and should be treated well. This was true with most restaurants as well.
On a lighter note, the fact that I was able to speak Russian allowed me to have a better time. My Bulgarian driver for the two days I was there spoke only Bulgarian and Russian; we were able to chat in the car. My guide to Orhei Vici figured this out and we spoke mostly Russian on the way back.
My guide was impressed that I was able to speak so much after only one semester of classes. Frankly, so was I. My Russian is still very broken, and when I’m missing the word for something I have to insert a phrase of Rusified-Polish, but I was happy that I could make myself understood when it mattered. As my guide said, “the only way you will ever learn a language is to have to speak it”. I felt like I spoke as much or more Russian than English and it wasn’t because I hardly talked.
I think that having even a small knowledge of Russian was a major part of why I found Moldova to be a pleasant country that I would not hesitate to return to, or even live in. That being said they do like to rip off ignorant western tourists. If you go to Moldova without at least enough knowledge of Russian or Romanian to understand a restaurant menu, you will probably have a much worse time, and form a much more negative impression of the country than it deserves.

Getting Back to The USSR on The Peretenia Express

Some of you might think, from the name of this post, that I had a negative experience traveling to Moldova by train. This is not the case. Some aspects are merely reminiscent of the Soviet era. The train is operated by the Moldovan State Railways. They lack the resources to update the cars but they do what they can to brand the experience, and generate some excitement about taking the train. The curtain are hand sewn and say Moldova on them, and your sheets are embossed with a red label saying (in Cyrillic) “Moldova 2010”.
The cars are rather old, but in good condition. I got an entire first class berth to myself. It was decorated in a rather Slavic fashion. When I embarked in Bucharest, the cabin was oppressively hot, as it did not have air-conditioning. However, we soon got moving and with the windows down the cool night air quickly cooled down my cabin, though I was only able to get about three hours of sleep as the train rattled over the Transylvanian Alps.
No one on the train spoke English, or any other language that I can reliably speak. I had a bit of a scare when the steward came by and took my entire ticket portfolio, including my ticket, and reservation for my return trip, and did not come back. Speaking Russian, I was able to get my reservation returned to me. The staff told me that they had to keep my ticket, but promised to return it to me next morning.
At five thirty next morning we were awakened for the border crossing. Romanian passport control went quickly, only about 30 minutes, and the train crawled the few hundred yards to the Moldovan side of the border.
After crossing the border the train pulled into a train yard, and each car was separately jacked up on hydraulic winches to have the gauge of its wheels changed. The experience is not nearly as interesting as it sounds, and takes an hour and a half. As part of the geographic former USSR, Moldova has a different gauge of railroad track than the more western parts of Europe. The track was apparently changed during an especially tense time of the Cold War, with the intent of slowing the pace of a possible invasion from the west. The track remains different in the former Soviet Union to this day.
Moldovan customs smacks a bit more of bureaucracy. The whole ordeal takes about an hour. First a doctor comes on the train and examines everyone for serious illness. Then a Customs Officer has to inspect every compartment on the train (although the thoroughness of the search varies with officer). Finally they stamp your passport. While I was warned that the police were corrupt and would try to extort bribes from you, they were never anything but polite to me. The entire train ride takes between 13 and 14 hours, and three are spend at the border.
For the last two hours I got to see some of the Moldovan country side. It is beautiful, and very rural. Some of the horse carts still have wooden wheels.
One final note, the “Peretenia” means girlfriend in Romanian. At the office we have a running joke that the last two interns married Romanian girls and it’s up to me to keep up the tradition. Unfortunately it seems that this train is closest I will come to a girlfriend on this trip. And when you think about it, the Peretinia Express isn’t much like a girl at all— she’s more like an old babuszka that just won’t quit. Taking this train was a mostly pleasant adventure and I’m glad I chose to take it.

Money!

Here is a look at what I have come to think of as my own personal united nations of currency. From left to right: Romanian Lei, Polish Złoty, Transdinisterian Rouble (my guide gave me, when I mentioned my interest in the region), Moldovan Lei, and Bulgarian Lev. Obviously Euro and Dollars are also present. Needless to say, the currency circus is starting to get confusing.

Pop Culture in Romania

One of the reasons why I love Eastern Europe is that it is easier to get away from popular culture. Though I grew up in Los Angeles, in a family involved in the television news industry, I have no great love for popular entertainment. The fact that high culture -- a concept that American seem to have all but rejected -- is easily available here does not mean that American pop culture is not uncommon. In fact it’s practically everywhere, more so than in other European nations(I have now heard Tok Toc in four separate countries). While there is a fledgling Romanian entertainment industry, its offerings, along with Eurobeat, remain relatively unpopular here. This increased glorification of American pop-culture seems to be yet another consequence of the decade late start that Romanians got when converting to the capitalist system. One of the people at the office, Maria, explained her latest obsession-Lady Gaga- by saying “ I grew up in communism. For us the pop-culture was always so glamorous.” It is true that in many Eastern European countries that it was also forbidden by the government.
This is just one of the ways in which Romania is still adapting to capitalism. There still remains the idea here that anything imported from the west is automatically superior to a domestic product. This attitude applies to everything from popular entertainment, to sweets, to beer. Romanians have a few more years to go before they grow accustomed enough to the plenty of a free and growing economy and before they realize that what they can produce themselves is often just as good, or better. This period of conspicuous consumption is an understandable phase in a period of adaptation. The good news is that, while I wait, I can still by the best seat in the opera house for 20 bucks. It’s still Europe after all.

Office Update

Since this blog seems to now be dealing with everything but international business, here is a quick update on what is going on at the office. I spend most of last week setting up a gold key or one-on-one meeting between an American defense materials manufacturer and various Romanian distributors. My tasks included making the schedule and calling various Romanian CEOs to confirm the meetings. Having me do this is a sneaky way of gauging their English skills. I have also been doing a lot of copy editing. These assignments make me feel like I’m back in a newsroom, and I am actually more comfortable doing this than most of the business-related assignments. I thought was supposed to research the supply side of the Romanian market for Energy generating infrastructure, for the SCO. However, when I talked to Maria Notiu the Commercial Specialist for the energy industry, I found that, in reality, this means “get the list of American companies that attended the recent webinar and put it on the boss’s desk.” Apparently this is my project for the internship. This week the defense contractor has been in town, so there really hasn’t been much for me to do. On Monday the highlight of my day was a fascinating discussion about geopolitical differences between Romania and Bulgaria with Maria… in Spanish. She is attempting to get her certificate as a speaker of Spanish, and was apparently very impressed by my skills with the language. Today there was really nothing to do except a bit of copy editing. Monica, my supervisor, is now back from her honeymoon. She saw how bored I was and told me “It’s a slow day, go explore Bucharest” at about 1:00 pm. The lack of work is apparently normal for the whole office, as this is when most of Europe takes its vacation. Monica is now the fifth person to express surprise that I have not done MORE traveling, including the boss, Mr. Kirkham. When I asked for a couple days off to go to Moldova he said “ I’d have been concerned if you had not asked for any days off. I’m mean you’re in Europe for Christ’s sake!”

Bulgarian border town

Last weekend was another great weekend in Europe. I started it off a bit early, on Friday with another night at the Romanian National Opera, which was presenting Verdi’s Nabucco. This is a rather famous opera, and for good reason. While the opera company does have some minor issues to work out, namely the balance between the orchestra and the singers, The entire production is amazing, going from one amazing chorus aria or scene to the next. Nabucco is now my favorite opera. Next day I got up, packed an overnight bag, headed to La gara de Nord, and caught the train to Russe, Bulgaria. The train ride was uneventful and I enjoyed watching the goats grazing next to the tracks. After stopping at the Romanian–Bulgarian border for customs the train trundled across the Danube River, on the largest steel bridge in Europe. I was pleasantly surprised upon arrival at my hotel. It was a newly renovated historical building near the town center. It has been everything from an aristocrat’s house, to a taxi depot, to the Romanian Consulate. I was upgraded to a double room, with a balcony and a view of the river at no extra charge. Immediately after checking in I headed for the town center. While Russe may be in the geographical sense a ‘border town’, it is the fifth largest city in Bulgaria, and has a totally different feel than Romania does. I found a restaurant right on the central square and enjoyed lunch. I then set about sightseeing. The highlights included the Pantheon of Romanian revivalists, which consisted of a large monument and park with small chapels interspersed among the trees. Some of them were very old. There was also a church, which was built mostly underground. The Monument to the Soviet Solder is a time capsule. It consists of a large statue and a couple of fascinating socialist-realist reliefs. The inscription on the back of it says something like “this is a sign of the friendship between Soviets and Bulgarians, long may it last”. The monument was not moved after the fall of communism, and remains at the entrance to one of the city’s main parks. The Café culture in Ruse is quite ubiquitous. This is something that is somewhat lacking in Bucharest. Taking full advantage at about 8pm I stopped into one of the cafes for dessert, a crepe filled with chocolate cream, topped with vanilla ice-cream and dark chocolate shavings. I was surprised at the price when the bill came. It was only 3.50лв (about $2) for a decadent desert, beverage, and an hour of people watching on one of the main old town roads. One of the problems with staying in the town center is that it is hard to find anything outside of a restaurant. I spent an hour looking for water before going back to the hotel. Next morning after breakfast at the hotel I decided to go sightseeing south of the city center. This proved difficult, as many of the sights are inside of or are used by Ruse’s port. I am thankful that I can read Cyrillic as I would have been completely lost if I did not. I managed to see the ancient watch tower, and the Roman Fortress. The much talked about fortress consists of a few stones, which you can look at through the port fence. While looking for these relics, I ran into a few sights which are not on the tourist map in the city’s center. I found the monument to Bulgarian Saliors, which has a stunning view of the Danube. I also found a Orthodox church, which made a point of displaying Catholic stations of the cross, with inscriptions in Polish. I passed the Catholic church of Russe. In was Sunday morning, so I ducked in for mass. I was surprised when the mass ended after the sermon. Apparently the Catholics in ruse have no priest and a lay-person was giving the mass. I walked by the Danube, which is a pale shade of brown here, slightly north of the town center, for lunch. Then back to the hotel where I put my feet up on the balcony for about an hour, before it was time to leave. I greatly enjoyed my time in Ruse. It is a manageable city with great ambiance. I am looking forward to exploring Bulgaria further in a few weeks. This also was an example of how the Eastern European nations are not integrating well with the EU. I had a minor scare on the way to Ruse. At Grigiu, the Romanian Town near the border, the train stopped and customs officer got on board. One took my passport and then left the train with it. I found myself rather worried that he would not come back. Fortunately he did, and I found out that they are entering your information into the system. The train then crawls on to Ruse where the Bulgarians stamp your passport, and take down your passport number and name. As a result of my weekend trip I accumulated 4 new stamps in my passport. This may not seem unusual, except for the fact that both Romania and Bulgaria are EU members. You can now pass between most EU nations without having to pass through customs, or even stop at the border at all.

Passports and European Integration

Many Eastern European nations, however, have flown in the face of EU integration and maintained their own border security. This was also the case when I flew between Poland and the Czech Republic, two other member nations, a few years ago. This further supports my theory that many such nation are actually in the EU mainly for trade perks and access to EU funding, but are uncomfortable to entrusting their own nation to a organization founded by western European powers which have a history of conquering them. They seem to feel that by integrating too much they will loose some of their identity and control over their country. Personally, I can totally see this as a reasonable danger of integration, with the union dominated by economic powers such as Germany and Britain. While some Eastern European nation have continued to grow, unaffected by the economic crises, they have a few years to go still before they stand on equal footing with the west. Until then they will have continue to protect their own interests first. On the way back, the Romanian customs officer came for my passport, I smiled at him and handed it over. May they continue to stamp them at the border for years to come.

Visa Issues

I’m sitting here, watching Hilary Clinton, make excuses on Romanian television, as to why the refusal rate for American visas is so high. Romania is full member of the EU, in which most all other countries qualify for a visa treaty. The U.S. , however, is refusing to extend this accommodation to Romania, where the refusal rate remains around 25%. Put simply, Romanians view this as discrimination. I am not entirely sure that they are wrong. It makes sense, they are an EU member and should receive the same treatment as it’s other member states. This has been a point of contention for a while, and stands to get worse in the future if nothing changes.
It seems that Romania is less than thrilled with the current regime in America. They were one of the first governments to back the US in the War in Iraq and, at a time when many government are withdrawing their support of the War on Terror, Romania is preparing to send another 1,000 troops. This attitude seems to extends to other parts of south eastern Europe as well. Kosovo recently named a street after 'W'.

The Real Bohemians

If you think gypsies, referred to in the west as Bohemians, are actually from the region of the same name in The Czech Republic, you’re wrong. They are actually called the Roma and originate in Romania. While Roma make up about 10% of the country’s population, they are often looked down upon by the Dacians, which are the main ethnic group. One of my co-workers outright told me that all danger of getting robbed in Romania is because of “these gypsies” (of course, no Dacians would ever do something like that). This attitude also seems to be prevalent throughout the country. In Mamia, I watched as a group of Roma was shooed away at the door of a restaurant. The rural areas are more extreme. It is apparently common for schools to be segregated, if Roma children are allowed to attend. Employment is also hard to come by if you are a Roma. That being said, the Roma appear disinterested in helping themselves. They often fail to register the birth of their children, or have them attend school at all. They appear to be perfectly happy to walk down the street in bright clothing while singing. Even for those interested in their situation, it can be hard to understand who is at fault. One of the Texan professors last Friday asked rather ignorantly, “How ‘bout dem gypsies?”. No one had a good answer for her.

Fatalism and The End of Protesting

I was told that all government workers would be striking on Monday and Tuesday. However, as I previously said, the public transit was running on Monday, and Tuesday as well. When I asked what happened with the strike at the office, Maria told me that an NGO asked them to cancel it and for the most part, the unions agreed. From this point on she believes that they will simply accept the salary and pension cuts, and suffer silently. She also made it very clear that this scenario is just another “funny way of Romanian protesting”. Dacian culture is a mélange of Latin and Slavic outlooks, and the tendency of Romanians toward fatalism, as opposed to idealism, is very Slavic. I also find it wonderfully refreshing. Apparently, one of Romanians greatest folk tales is about a man who learns he is going to be killed and spends the rest of life planning his own funeral, instead of trying to avoid his demise. In this same vain, it seems that the unions have chosen, after over half a month of protesting, to simply accept their fate and suffer gloriously.