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Romania Explained to My Friends Abroad
If you want a bite of Romania and for whatever reason you don’t have the stomach or the time to sample it here – for a month, a year or a lifetime – this is the book you need! But let me start with the beginning...
Dear Reader,
“Romania explained to my friends abroad” is not an exhaustive, academic paper on Romania; nor is it a travel guide. I’m a simple journalist and this is just my own private Romania – a subjective puzzle of all the things I know from experience to be interesting for foreign tourists.
I’ve been working for the Romanian edition of National Geographic for over ten years. Mostly because of my job I’ve met many foreigners – either when they visited Romania or when I went abroad. I guess now I’ve got more friends from the other side of the Earth than from my native land. I’ve learned a lot from them and from trying to answer their
• Do Romanians consider Ceausescu a good or a bad dictator?
• Are Gypsies dangerous?
• Where do vampires come from?
• Why did the Saxons leave Transylvania?
• How dangerous is it to ride a bicycle in Bucharest?
• Why do most Romanian surnames end in escu?
• Why do you have so many monks?
• Where can I find Gerovital?
• Any recommendations, must-see places?
• How many Jews still live in Romania?
• What are your most interesting traditions?
• And so on…
I had to research and prepare myself each and every time, for every curiosity they had. Some of these studies became the essays I’ve collected in this book.
Dear Reader,
“Romania explained to my friends abroad” is not an exhaustive, academic paper on Romania; nor is it a travel guide. I’m a simple journalist and this is just my own private Romania – a subjective puzzle of all the things I know from experience to be interesting for foreign tourists.
I’ve been working for the Romanian edition of National Geographic for over ten years. Mostly because of my job I’ve met many foreigners – either when they visited Romania or when I went abroad. I guess now I’ve got more friends from the other side of the Earth than from my native land. I’ve learned a lot from them and from trying to answer their
• Do Romanians consider Ceausescu a good or a bad dictator?
• Are Gypsies dangerous?
• Where do vampires come from?
• Why did the Saxons leave Transylvania?
• How dangerous is it to ride a bicycle in Bucharest?
• Why do most Romanian surnames end in escu?
• Why do you have so many monks?
• Where can I find Gerovital?
• Any recommendations, must-see places?
• How many Jews still live in Romania?
• What are your most interesting traditions?
• And so on…
I had to research and prepare myself each and every time, for every curiosity they had. Some of these studies became the essays I’ve collected in this book.
333 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 14, 2014
2 people are currently reading
26 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 22, 2023
Romania Explained To My Friends Abroad by Catalin Gruia - I give this 3 out of 5. This is for two reasons.
First, there were so many grammatical/punctuation errors. I have higher expectations of a book especially when you mention you've written for National Geographic for years. I know Catalin Gruia didn't do any translations not of his own writing, but still if you assemble works in a book you put your name on I feel you are ultimately responsible for the quality you are presenting your readers.
Second, although I found the content interesting, several mentions were missing further information. You're presenting information to "your friends abroad" be sure to explain what things are. You are writing for non-Romanians so we won't always know who someone is or what something is. I also felt there could have been better topics in some cases chosen to represent an explanation of the country. As someone who lived there for almost a year an introduction to certain foods, cultures, regions, Old Tomis, etcetera would have been nice inclusions.
First, there were so many grammatical/punctuation errors. I have higher expectations of a book especially when you mention you've written for National Geographic for years. I know Catalin Gruia didn't do any translations not of his own writing, but still if you assemble works in a book you put your name on I feel you are ultimately responsible for the quality you are presenting your readers.
Second, although I found the content interesting, several mentions were missing further information. You're presenting information to "your friends abroad" be sure to explain what things are. You are writing for non-Romanians so we won't always know who someone is or what something is. I also felt there could have been better topics in some cases chosen to represent an explanation of the country. As someone who lived there for almost a year an introduction to certain foods, cultures, regions, Old Tomis, etcetera would have been nice inclusions.
November 28, 2025
It was ok. Not well written, but that was probably the translation.
July 16, 2015
A very illuminating introduction to a most singular country...
September 16, 2016
A few interesting pieces of information but the writing was atrocious.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews