Living in RO Colors

Dear Vilmos Loo & team,
Congratulations for the medals and prizes won at the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics. I am very proud to be a fellow citizen of such bright teenagers.

I am sure it was a real challenge for them, having in mind the lack of resources and motivation in our present education system. Bravo for these students that they followed their ambition and didn´t listen to the pessimistic and good-for-nothing comments.

The details of the competition:
- The IOAA (International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics) 2007 took place in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in 30th Nov – 9th Dec 2007.
- It is the first competition of this kind
- 21 countries (the distribution map is very interesting!), 86 students, 41 Leaders and 7 Observers
- Our team:

• Students: Miruna Oprescu, Mihai Tomozeiu, Vilmos Loo, Valentin Buciumas, Nicu David Serban
• Leaders: Sorin Trocaru and Radu-Calin Zapotinschi
• Observers: Constantin Traistaru

Congratulations to the Romanian team! Keep up the good work. »

7.5 million tourists visited Romania in 2007, 27% more than 2006. Hotels and motels had been built, renovated and marketed. The offer is wide and unique: beaches, the Danube delta, mountains, and spa resorts - all four seasons have something interesting to offer.Almost everyone is making an effort to redefine the Romanian tourism and discover its strengths:
- the hosts are improving the quality of their services
- the authorities are branding the “fabulous spirit” of Romania
- the agencies are marketing their offers

I invite the foreign tourists to share their stories about visiting Romania on a news blog created especially for you: TravelNotes.ro. Create an account in seconds and start sharing pictures and comments about Romania. Here are a few hints:

- What part of the biodiversity caught your attention: the relief, the fauna or the flora?
- Which cultural event brought you to Romania or interested you?
- What do you think of the Romanian people you encountered?
- Did you enjoy hiking and discovering the nature around you?
- Which Romanian tradition caught you attention?
- How does the food you had in Romania differed from the one in your country?
- Which tourist destination from Romania would you recommend to your friends?

Share your travel notes, eve if you have a blog or profile in a travel community - we want to know about it and let others learn from your experiences.
Bottom line: We want to know what the foreign tourists think about Romania. The simple truth, so we can learn from it.

A new book about healthy eating hit the stores: “Traiesc, deci ma abtin” (I live, therefore I abstain) by Doctor Mihaela Bilic.
The book is interesting enough to not skip any page and gives you good reasons not to give up any diet you have started so far. I do recommend it to those who still have questions about healthy habits for eating.

Here are a few details for the book:
- Web-site: doctorbilic.com (only in Romanian; it has an order form)
- Size: 174 pages with many pictures and very legible.
- Price: 49,9 lei / 13.5 euros / 19.6 usd
- recommended by: Mihaela Radulescu, Teo Trandafir, Loredana Groza, Andreea Raicu, Andreea Berecleanu and Oana Cuzino
- as far as I know, the book is available only in Romanian. »

I like to watch the Discovery Channels, especially the Travel & Living channel. I watch it while having dinner (it is not healthy, I know ), I listen to it while I do house work and I watch it before bed time. Recently, I’ve noticed an increase in the number of culinary shows:
1. No reservations, with Anthony Bourdain
2. Feast Bazaar, with Berry Verra
3. Local Flavors, with Joan Cusack
4. Bizarre Foods, with Andrew Zimmern
5. World Café Asia, with Bobby Chin
6. Chic Eats

Not to mention:
7. License to Grill, with Robert Rainford (on Euforia TV)
8. The Naked Chef, with Jamie Oliver, (on TVR 1)

All of the above are interesting, entertaining and educating shows; but so many of them lately. Almost every TV channel has them.

In my opinion, one theme is emerging from all these culinary shows: make the best dish with the local ingredients. Discover the potential and flavors of the local ingredients. Work with what you have and cook the best dish. Experiment, change and listen to your guts.

Interestingly, these advices are true in every industry. But coming from a cute, funny, talented chef…it all makes sense. We all should master the local resources. If we don’t, a foreigner will come, one day, full of ideas and enthusiasm. And he/she will show us what we couldn’t see: the richness around us. After all, the grass is always greener on the other side, right?

When I learned that Gwyneth Paltrow will be hosting a food show with Chef Mario Batali, I only prayed that having a culinary show on TV will not become the new I-must-have-my-own-perfume/clothing-line-because-I-am-a big-star. Cooking is not for everyone, you stars out there. You actually have to cook (it can make you dirty, you know) and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

How do you recycle your bottles? If you are Romanian, I bet you don’t. If you are foreigner, I bet you have options. I’m a big fan of recycling. I’ll recycle everything I can and it hurts my heart when I throw away bottles and plastics. Just because I do not even have 1 option for recycling them. There are no services for the population to recycle their waste.
I do recycle paper and cardboard via Copacul de Hartie (the Paper Tree) - they plant trees bought with the money from selling the paper — and I donate old clothing to the needy. It feels good.

But I would like to do more. A quick google and I learned that there are nice ways to recycle bottles. Some smart people have given this issue a serious thought and came up with this solution: reduce the volume of the glass using a cool machine to do all the hard part. All you have to do is remember to recycle.

Here are some versions of the same idea:
1. Bottler Cycler - Recycling and Waste Management for Bottles
2. Smash and Grab - “Little Smasher”
3. Reverse Vending Corporation - reverse vending machines which utilize advanced technology to identify, sort, collect , process and recycle used beverage containers including cans, glass bottles, PET (plastic) bottles and vending cups.

To have some success with these ideas in Romania, they have to be private initiatives; like initiatives from private companies: malls, super/hypermarkets & co.
Dear Manager from a Big Company, please invest in a bottle recycling machine in front of your big hypermarket - your customers will thank you on their way to spend their money on your business.

I would love to go shopping and leave a bag of bottles at the smashing machine in front of the store. Maybe even get a receipt that says “Thank you Mihaela for recycling with us today. You’ve just recycled x kilograms of glass. You balance so far is y kilograms of recycled glass. You’re on 10th place in your community. ” Only 10th? I have to pay mom a visit and talk to her about her bottles. How many of my friends are not recycling? Hmmm….

Do you get my point? There is a HUGE opportunity on the Romanian recycling business. We need smart and stimulating ideas; business people with guts; green education for the masses.

And at the end of the year, we want to know where our recycling goes: how much energy was saved? Which companies used the recycled materials? Make people’s lives easier and greener and they sleep better at knight.

So….how do you recycle your bottles? (use the form below to leave your opinions)

February 2008. It’s time for Bucharest , our capital city, to choose its mascot. It’s a little late for that, but not too late. So many basic things need attention in Bucharest, that choosing a mascot in 2008 it’s never too late.

A mascot is a person, animal, or object believed to bring good luck, especially one kept as the symbol of an organization such as a sports team.

The city hall did some serious brainstorming and came up with these ideas:

1. from the animal kingdom: the lion, the aquila, the ladybug and the white butterfly;
2. from the vegetal kingdom: the plane-tree, the acorn, the daisy, the snowdrop and the four-leaf clover;
3. architecture: the Palace of the Parliament, the Patriarchal Palace, the Romanian Athenaeum, the ,,George Enescu” Museum and the and CEC Palace.

Wikipedia says that the rose and the golden eagles are Romania’s national emblems. But we do not have a national personification.

The city hall’s web site will host a poll destined the find out the opinion of the people. My vote goes to the plane-tree: if this symbol will win, the city hall will have to plant a lot of these trees in Bucharest, so at least we will have more green around us.

Even the snowdrop is a good symbol: it represents a new beginning, a fresh start and the power to break through the freezing snow. And Bucharest needs a fresh start to clean up its reputation of a dirty, insecure, crowded and polluted European capital city.

Still, I agree with the opinion the professionals should decide the mascot of Bucharest, not the citizens. From my point of view, the people of Bucharest are too disappointed and angry on their mayor & co to make a wise decision.

So far, all the news regarding the Bucharest’s mascot is from news portals. I’m still looking for an official post or poll on the city hall’s website. I’ll keep you posted if I’ll find something interesting .

While catching up with reading blogs over the weekend, I’ve found an interesting post: play tag online with books. I’m sure you’ve played tag in you childhood, you remember the fun you had.
I loved this version immediately and here’s my challenge for you:

1. Pick up the book closest to you, no matter where you are right now.
2. Open it on page 123.
3. Find the 5th sentence/phrase on that page.
4. Post below, in the comments section, the next 4 sentences/ phrases.
5. Send this post to a friend or more, and invite them to do the same.
6. Do NOT search around for a cool or smart book; just pick up the one closest to you.

Here is my book: Romanian-English Dictionary, by Andrei Bantas (I’m at the office now ).
Ha (interj) = ha!
Habar (sn) = idea; (grija) care
Hac (sn) = a veni de ~ cuiva to get the better of somebody.
Hai(de) (interj) = come on!

Now it’s your turn! You’re it!

I was wondering, the other day, why there aren’t pro bono lawsuits in Romania. If there are, I haven’t heard of any.

In Romania, most of the people suffer wrong doings without having the power to fight back - the lawsuits are too expensive and the system is very little understood. So why not empowering them?

The system of pro bono lawsuits should work like the our medical system: the lawyers have a number of people under their “protection” and each people have the right to 3 or 2 or even 1 free of charge lawsuit during their lifetime. Like in a game: you have 3 “credits”, use them wisely.

This system will bring benefits to both parts:

- familiarizing the people with the laws and procedures;

- the lawyers will gain more experience and prestige, and get to keep the clients they do good work for;

- more justice will be done in Romania.

So think about it: if this lawsuit is free of charge, who would you sue? Is your problem worth addressing the court? Is it worth spending this “credit” or there are other solutions to the problem?

This is just an idea and needs improvement. But would it make the world a better place?

For your amusement, check this collection of stupid lawsuits.

Driving on the roads of Romania is an extreme sport. You have to have a strong heart and a huge attention span for it. One thing is certain: being so close to accidents on a daily basis, it makes you appreciate life more when you get home safely at the end of the day.

My country has only 2 (two) speedways: Bucharest-Pitesti and Bucharest-Constanta. The rest of the roads are at God’s mercy: big pits, garbage, blocked lanes. Carriages, cows, sheep or drunken bikers are part of the scenery too. Not to mention the attitude of the other traffic participants: rude, inexperienced, always in a hurry.
I mean, who wouldn’t want an off-road driving experience on the way to work and back?
The government’s efforts to repair the road are too small comparing to the problems. At this point, trying to resolve to roads problem is not enough anymore.

A foreigner driver in Romania will find driving on these roads very challenging. An optimistic attitude and patience are a must because the problems and surprises are all over the road. Only your attitude will make the difference between a good and a bad driver day.
Driving on Romania’s roads is a luck-test in itself: you find out how lucky you are being avoided by bad drivers. So start praying before you get in the car and thank your Guardian Angel when you arrive with no incidents at destination.

I love driving, especially when I’m in no rush. While waiting for the green light, it got me thinking – regarding the state of the roads, everything should be public information. On a dedicated web site you should find detailed information about which roads are in construction, who’s responsible for the repairs, time dead-lines and budget - after all, is the public money being spend.
Also, a radio station with traffic information and music for the road will be very useful for long distances.

Bottom line: driving in Romania is never boring and is a constant source of stories to tell around a camp fire. Driving successfully in Romania is good practice for driving anywhere in this world.

What are your opinions or experiences on driving in Romania? Got any funny stories about it? Share with us

Just to make things clear, here is a simple definition of fog: Fog is a cloud in contact with the ground. Fog differs from other clouds only in that fog touches the surface of the Earth. The same cloud that is not fog on lower ground may be fog where it contacts higher ground such as hilltops or mountain ridges.

Fog is distinct from mist only in its density. Fog is defined as cloud which reduces visibility to less than 1 km, whereas mist is that which reduces visibility to less than 2 km. Fog forms when the difference (Δ) between temperature and dew-point are 3 °C, or less, especially around rivers. (Courtesy of Wikipedia) »