Thoughts, this is the world we are living in, we're just born in it, the fact that you are black, what is black , define black, define white, who the fucking cares , but this is for me, race exists, a reality, this is a very profound and long, and without end, because it doesn't have any subject, in other words, we do have race, so what
As long as you are good in what you do, and I wish you'll be a good doctor, I don't give a shit about the race shit, I don't, in our world, you know this much better than me, racism exist, this is my point
I say to you as a genuine romanian guy: we don't care if you are from America or other part of the world! We will always treat you the same: if you are a decent person we will be your best friend for you, but if you're not a good Citizen in my country, we will say it straight in your face with no remorse! If someone in Romania say to you, for example: " you're fat " ,they will say to you with no intention of laughing at you but to worn you to improve your heath! If we stare at you, excuse us, but we are curious by nature! We are not bad people once you got to know us
You're a really nice and an understandable person! I only saw 1 black person in my life in Romania, I starred for like 4 seconds and then I realised that maybe they'll find it rude so I looked the other way. I hope foreigners try to understand that the majority of us are just curious and don't mean to be rude. And let me tell you that elders whould stare even if u are a romanian citizen, they have no shame when it comes to starring lol..
Romanian here, but this does'nt matter too much. If a white person goes to Afrika he will be considered white or mzungu regardless of his culture or country of his origin. This behaviour is just a normal thing and should not be considered racism. It's not racism to call someone black, white, asian or south american. Its racism when a human being gets harmed, judged, disconsidered or disadvantaged because of his physical appearance.
mzungu (pronounced [m̩ˈzuŋɡu]) is a Bantu word that means “wanderer” originally pertaining to spirits. The term is currently used in predominantly Swahili speaking nations to refer to white people dating back to 18th century. The noun Mzungu or its variants are used in many afrikan countries. source:wikipedia
To be black in Romania is not the end of the world, but its a wierd and hard experience, thats my personal though. Never ever I heard about a black people was agressed because of his skin color. Romania, in my opinion its much safer that most of EU countries. I tell you this because in Romania u will not see that amount of army or enforceman on the streets. Racism its real thing and its amplified by the 'woke up' mind of some ...people. How could, I, as an romanian to be 'woked up' ? My country and my ancestors had never enslaved others. Ok, gypsies were enslaved here, and we gave them back all, it;s complicated. Anyway, why I need to excuse myself of the terrible things that western europeans did to Afrikans, native Americans and Australian natives when where in no relations with them? Racism is the escuse of the weaks for the troubles of the daily life of the native cultures all over the world.
@@strumf2007 - Don’t forget Western Europeans also harmed south-Asia (India, Bangladesh, Pakistan etc), and the Middle East too (Lebanon, Syria, Palestine) etc. I agree with the rest of what you said though.
I smiled and really enjoyed this video. Romanians usually stare because they are fascinated and curious, that's it. There is no racism or far right thing like other countries. Sure we may have our bad apples, but generally the nation doesn't care how you look.
Don't feel offended! We Romanians stare even at each other if we find the smallest thing that catches our eye..It's kind an extreme curiosity and quilty pleasure...😄 And, of course, we like to talk afterwards upon the subject..😀But generally, we are friendly..
When I was younger, sometimes I enjoy to wear some unusually clothes, like very larger jeans or long t-shirts and stuff like this. When I walked dressed like that in some area near college, nobody looked at me, cause everyone was use to see that. Anyway, when time was to go home in my small town or worse, when I had the need to go into some rural areas, almost everyone stared. I think that parallel will make you understand better why they do that.
I am born and raised in Amsterdam but my parents both from Angola. I lived 3 year in Cluj-Napoca. One day I was at the Auchan for groceries and there was an old lady in front of me in the que of the cashier. She was staring at me and I was just smiling back at her. Once it was my turn at the cashier I asked the cashier for 2 plastic bags in Romanian. The old lady was surprised and ask me how I learned to speak Romanian. She was surprised to see a black person speak Romanian. We had a little conversation and she was so sweet and funny. She said I was beautiful and even kissed me on my forehead. I told her that if she was younger I would had take her out for a drink and a nice place where we can dance manele lol. I ain’t gon lie, she made my day. Romanian people are very nice loved it there. I’m going back this summer for the holidays in Bucharest and Constanta (Mamaia) 💯
I’m in Canada, and I was in line for the cashier and behind me I heard a family speaking fluent Romanian - far better than I can speak. I turned around to see who it was, and it was an African family. I was shocked because it’s so unexpected however it’s amazing how things like that happen. I wish you success in school and you should always keep your mind and focus business-centric.
I am a black Romanian, raised and born in Baia Mare, and i must admit, for me being a person of color, brought only advantages. I was a news presenter on a regional TV station for 10 yrs and people find it really cool to see somebody like me talking Romanian perfectly. So, how cool is that ?!? 😁
I live abroad for 15 years now, and witnessed in the mall a few years back, a tall black guy with afro hair, who spoke perfectly romanian with regional accent. It kinda blew my mind :)) Also in Baia Mare.
Florin cred ca noi ca Romani suntem multe chestii da rasisti nu cred ca am fost vreodata, cel putin nu persoanele mai tinere, la noi daca esti de treaba esti “fratele nostru din alta mama” cam asa vad eu romanii cand vine vorba de asta
@@phenomen8079 Nu cred! Pentru multi... da, asta-i adevarat, dar mai trebuie sa retii ca exista un grup semnificativ de oameni care folosesc termenul de _țigan_ cu sens negativ de parca ar fi ceva normal.
@@RT-. Şi ţiganii, când vor, folosesc cuvântul "român" cu sens negativ de parcă asta ar fi ceva normal. Păzea că-mi şi pasă! Ţara arde şi pe noi ne muncesc cuvintele!
pe dracu.. poate cu oameni civilizati. sunt enorm de multi retardati cu gura mare si capu patrat care fac viata grea oricui pare lor ca e diferit, nu stiu ce altceva sa faca cu frustrarile
@@professionalhater3348 Tine de respect man, nu de legi. Legile au aparut ca riposta la cei care se cred mai speciali. Asa s-a cladit civilizatia, prin rigoarea legii .In fine, ai inteles ce am spus. Educatia face diferenta.
As a Romanian I can confirm a lot of what you're saying. I remember being a teenager, hanging out in the park with a friend, we noticed 2 black girls sitting on a bench in front of us and we just stared at them for a moment just out of surprise, because this is not something we usually see in Romania. I will also add that I'm a white person but I'm a metalhead and people would also stare at me on the street and in the bus when they'd see me wearing band shirts. I don't know if this stopped because I'm older now or because people got used to seeing metalheads, but yes, people in Romania will stare at you if you're not part of the majority or the mainstream. It's good to have a sense of humor about it.
@@adriancarlos9155 The ancient population that originally settled in modern day Romania were called Daci / Dacians, there's not a lot known about them, we have multiple theorizes, a popular one is that they were already a Latin-type people or something similar, which could explain why they embraced the culture of the Roman Empire once they were conquered. Because a number of Slavic peoples have taken parts of Romania throughout history, and while there are some Slavic influences on the Romanian language, for the most part Romanians refused to accept their cultures and refused to assimilate, this includes many noble families who lost their wealth because of it. So, technically we are Romanized Dacians, or Daco-Romans. The word "Romania" comes from a Latin word that means "of Rome".
@@HorrorSFManiac Latin is the language the Romans spoke, Dacians were a lot darker than those in Romania today. Although they we're not natives of the land they travelled and settled there or placed there by the Romans bred out and the light marriage on to the light... Thanks for sharing your knowledge with me. The problem is people like to think we are all separate from each other, Everybody has melanin meaning Everyone has fully Melianated ancestors including you. The term swarthy means having dark skin fully Melianated, we are all different shades of Brown not Black or White, The darkest of people's created all different shades of Brown, there is no such thing as White or Black people.... So called Africans populated Europe before any sign of pale skinned people in it, science proves this... Everything started in one place... The hottest place, god didn't create "Whites" and place in Europe, nor did people just suddenly appear in Romania, which was probably not even called that originally.... Australia New Zealand Samoa Papa New Guinea, South America Asia, all these people's aboriginal to these lands were all dark people's, race is made up, we all humans, hue man's.... people are only White in their minds.... And you as a Romanian must go really dark in the sun... there is a reason for this... we have all been conditioned and indoctrinated.....
So you are White are you? But you look nothing like the actual colour White so how can you be White? You are indoctrinated into thinking we are all different races but we are all different shades of Brown, go put on a White T shirt 👕 Are you White??, only in your mind not in reality.... You are not blind you know what's what, you don't go about calling a Black car Brown or a Pink or Red car White do you 🤔 so why do it with us as people 🤔 conditioning 🤔, It's that mentality I expect from Romanians through experience, you been mentality fucked with this bollkcks, Romanians are faded Brown people, damm, you even darker than most if not majority of Germanics, from UK Denmark, Germany Finland etc .. A few minutes in the sun you'd be darker than most so called Blacks, and when you say Black people, was there hair the same colour as there faces, no so how they Black? They are fully Melianated people's you are melaneemic people's, although you have more than the average Germanic, ie English etc Everyone has melanin meaning Everyone has fully Melianated ancestors including you 😀 God didn't create different races and nations, and put so called Whites in Europe or so called Romanians in Romania.... No... Fully Melianated people's created all other humans through mutations.... Man created the lie of race... Dr Johann Frederick Bumberbach created the classification of different races, putting the so called White race on top, this is what is indoctrinated into you from an infant at school and your society! I have seen some dark Romanians, but the light only reproduce with the light, so that's why you mostly resemble Italian or French complexion, the obsessed deluded notion that you are White is a mental illness, The lighter Romanians look down on the dark ones and desperately yearn to bred out the dark , they don't procreate with the dark Romanians, I find especially Bulgarians Polish Ukrainians, Romanians, very racist, and you the darkest of all modern Europeans, Original Romani Gypsies were Indian's, Romania was create by the Romans, We are all created by the first fully Melianated people's who populated the world , the first humans biology proven were found in the continent we now know as Africa! The oldest skulls were found there, Ancient European skulls were found to be of Ancient Europeans who were not pale people, DNA proves this....
My father went to School in Romania for 5 years. This was back in the late 70's and early 80's. He loved it. Said he was treated like a celebrity. Especially in the country side where people would visit the house he was hosted in just to meet a black man and bring him gifts. He speaks Romanian fluently and sometimes he emails with his old school friends 😊
i imagine in the 70`s where communism was at his peak seeing a black people its like seeing a movie or a celebrity , even aliens hahaha. Especially country side where people lived in modesty with barelly access to electricity I remember story when they brought in the 70 s their first TV , the old gradma back then basically run while yelling , she believed the horse will come trough TV and kill her :))))))
Very true, I live in Sibiu now and I am treated like a celebrity 😂. Old and youngsters stares at me so much and many want to touch, talk to you and kiss you
Romanians care more about how you behave. They don't really care where you are from or what you look like. Exactly how people said here, they are a curious culture. Lovely people!
for some it's an intrigued stare because as you said, we were not exposed to this culture, we did not interact directly, we don't know anything about the cultural differences. So for some, it's something new, seen only on TV and youtube videos. Few Romanians interacted with guys like you or had the opportunity to travel to cities like London and studied or work with and get to know these different cultures. I guess it can be annoying sometimes, but i'm sure things will improve in the future as we'll travel more and get exposed to the different cultures.
@@romaniac Anecdotally, my brain is automatically turning on when seeing someone/something different from what I'm used to and generates unwillingly a conflict between "I wish I could look more" to "but he/she's going to think I'm staring" to "damn, I looked too long/he's going to think I'm a creep" to "don't look, don't look, you're going to be weird again"...🤦♀️...please, be patient with us, we don't mean anything bad, is just awkwardness.
Thank you for your kindness, patience and wisdom in understanding the Roumanian people! You cannot be more right and I think that your thoughts would be valid for any foreigner in any country!
Yes that’s exactly the aim of the video. These points could be transferred for any foreigner abroad. There will always be things that you deem “abnormal” but that’s a given as we aren’t all born into the same place with the same culture or way of living. Thanks for this comment!🙏🏾🤗
As a Romanian, I will assure you that we always stare at what fascinates us. Also staring is a way of saying "hello" for us. If someone stares at you, salute him/her by saying "Hello" or "Salut" or at least nod in an approval manner. The color of your skin matters very little to us, but in terms of racism, your religion and they way you are respecting our cultural norms matters a lot.
@@nolord2563 Staring is a natural human response to emotions like surprise or awe. That is completely normal and you should not be offended by emotions or if someone looks at you.
Romanians in general stare at any race because we are used to see other races in the movies. I promise! Is like we are seeing someone famous, especially for older generation! It really comes from the fact that we appreciate being near people from different cultures or races. Big like!
i hope you like it here and have a positive experience overall. you need to understand something about Romania, and Romanians, we are really not used to people coming here to visit/work/study. so for many of us, it is just out of curiosity... there is no malice because most people fail to see the beauty and reasons why Romania is a good country, and a lot of Romanians would want to leave the country. In 2019 (the best year for global tourism) we only had 2.7 mil foreign people coming to Romania, with a majority coming for business. I`m really curious, what culture shocks did you have coming here? and what things do we do that seem odd to you?
@@vicu_negru I really love it here. I've been here for 9 years now. The staring was odd to me. I'm from Chicago and if you stare at someone there, it usually means you want to fight, lol. Biggest shock? The small size of the refrigerator and stove while the bedroom furniture is huge. The safety! I don't have to be afraid. The beauty of Romania and how different it is in different areas. The cost of living is excellent. The worst? That most places pay Romanians far less than a native English speaker. That's just not right. It's racism against its own people and that's why young Romanians want to leave. I'm a teacher and head of an international school in Bucharest. Thank you for asking. Btw, Romanians are wonderful people!
I m a Romanian in London, and one think I can say about us, is that we are extremely curious. Sometimes this can be felt as an intrusion ,but no harm is done . Hope you happy with your choice,and be curious to understand Romanian people in a deeper level .In most cases when you gain their trust they will give their hearts for you to be good .
Whenever I am in a different country and someone stares at me, I just smile and say hello in the native language. It is a great way to interact with locals and meet new people! The stares have never bothered me; it makes me feel like a famous celebrity!
I'm glad to see this video, and at the same time it makes me laugh, because what you say is mostly true, that is, more. and as for us, as a country as a people, we are not different from others, from other countries, you just have to be happy with him, once you get to know him you will see that he will give everythingfor you, that's how we are,..by the way, I'm Romanian but I live in England 😁🤗..
I am not black but i am Latino americano and i am married a romanian woman and ive never fell discriminate here in romania!!!!! Sure they look to me because of my color but it is normal, just curiosity!!!!! i love romanian people and i thing they love brazilians like me as well!!! great video my dear!!!!!
I've lived in Romania, they are very kind and friendly people. Try not focusing on the color of your skin and just don't worry about it, enjoy life and live happy.
My grandma never in her life saw a black person. Actually, I highly doubt she even knows that people with different skin color exist, since she lived all her life in the exact same village (of course, without having TV, internet or phones). My parents saw black people only on TV (and they are not very old :) ) Of course, Romania had closed borders for a long time and it was illegal to leave or enter the country. I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to meet people from all around the world, I feel so lucky to be able to travel and see other cultures, traditions, people. I don’t want to live in an isolated country, like my parents and grandparents did. All the best to you. Good luck at uni ♥️
I agree, no matter where we are from we are lucky to be able to travel as much as we do, some don’t have the money or means to do so 🙌🏾 Thanks for the best wishes!🤗
But you are faded Brown , so called Blacks are darker Brown, but not Black, You just a bunch of racist fools, at one time you were not on the classification list as being White. This happened much later... Even the Irish were not considered White.... but because the White race is a man creation, and doesn't actually exist, because there are not White people on the face of the earth... The real minority is the so called White race! We are different shades of Brown not Black or White... all these other nations were included much later, Romanians Bulgarians, were not considered White, only recently are you getting paler, if you get my meaning
@@romaniac Because your ancestors went around stealing and invading lands so it set up the New World New Found land... Australia New Zealand America, Brazil, Spain, Portugal etc, Canada, America,
Tu ești conștient(ă) că pe vremea lui ceașcă aveam o mulțime de studenți africani și arabi? Majoritatea erau din țări prietene cu România ceaușistă. Persoanele de culoare nu sunt un element nou în România.
It was nice to see the Romanian government greeted African students with open arms, who were caught in the beginning of the war in the Ukraine, as everyone was fleeing ❤️
I have friends in romania who are at university and they have students from other countries and some of them speak only english and french, no romanian at all, but they still study there
Romanians are not racists. But we love when we see foreigners here. Everyone seems to avoid Romania because the economy is not so good as in western Europe. Go to France and you’ll see real racism there, or Germany or other country. It happened not only to people of color but to white people also. I think people from Romania starred at you because you look handsome. 😉
They are but not with black people. And not with all brown people. The best way to avoid racism in Romania if You are brown is to wear glasses. People would assume You are an Indian intellectual and not discriminate You.
How can you say France is racist ???? We are the least racist country. Stop being stupidly brainwashed. We give everything to illegal immigrants. If you speak about racism against WHITES then yes France is Racist. Do you know how many Romanians live in France ? Time to go out of your house and learn something. Close the TV though
As a Romanian, you are 100% right. People don't stare at you or others looking different for malicious reasons but instead they feel genuine curiosity and awe that "someone out there actually came to Romania". That's why that guy took a pic of you. As you said, try to be the best version of yourself because any foreigner leaves a big impression on Romania and you are literally a mini-ambassador for your culture/country due to the scarcity of foreigners in Romania. Case in point, Cabral, probably the most famous black TV personality in Romania is what most Romanians will perceive a black person to be like.
Dude being with Romanian gf for like 3 years(I'm Greek). I must say that they couldn't care less for somebody's skin color. If you respect them, get to know them, embrace their culture etc...rest don't matter. Ps forgot how beautiful Herastrau is.
You are a smart guy, the fact that you are black, doesn't matter to me, 2 months in sun, and I am black-er than you are, the simply truth is, so simple: racism will exist as long races exist, there is nothing to do about this, is a taboo nobody wants to talk about, have a nice stay in Romania
I had a similar experience when I was visiting Japan (not Tokyo), and a woman asked me to take a picture with her son. That was weird and funny at the same time.. 😅 I guess people who are just not used to seeing many foreigners might want to take a photo lol
I am Romanian but maybe you are not aware of the situation of Romania, most of the Romanians are abroad so I don't think because you are not from Romania matters to them. Romanians are leaving and returning in Romania so are used with people from other nations. If you walk on the streets in the UK anywhere you can hear people speaking Romanian.
I'm 34 now. The first time I met and interacted with a man from Nigeria was in my 2nd year of med school, at 21. No joke, that was the first time I ever saw a man of color and changed ideas with him. His views on life and society were absolutely brilliant! Most times we don't have the option to socialize and get to know people outside our own country(communism and the fact that most people...don't come to live here). Hope you are well and thank you for the content 🙏
Your video has reminded me of a story with my mother. Her and I were in a supermarket shopping, store was located in a small city fairly close to Bucharest, not a very diverse city. My mother saw 2 black guys and she was lost in a stare. Elbowed her gently, mum what are you doing? She said, I’m just curious. I said I get it, look of course but dont stare, imagine the opposite and how they might feel. Saying that, I will admit that I didnt fully understand how they felt until I moved to England and I’ve been put to walk in their shoes. I took it as a normal thing, kept on smiling and carried on. Thanks for making this video and I hope you fully enjoy your stay in Romania.
The thing is, we, romanians, aren't really racist towards people of different skin color or religion: throughout our history we've been bordered by many great empires of different ethnicities and customs: the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire. We do have some differences with the Romani/gipsy people and this thing is seen not only here, but throughout the entire european continent. But when disaster strucks or when our politicians start acting like idiots(for example the massive protests from the 2012/2017), we forget about every difference and unite against it. Black people in Romania are most likely welcomed and most if not all of us romanians are only curious when we see black people because we very rarely see people of such different culture.
Thank you so much for being so open minded and interested in understanding Romanians ❤️ I am Romanian and my husband is Tanzanian. He made the same observations first time when he visited Romania. He feels like people stare but not in a bad way,but just in a curious way, like they would like to know more of where he's from and what's he doing in Romania. In some more rural parts , people thought he was a celebrity and wanted to get his autographs even, invited him to their house to try our foods and try our traditional alcohol aka tuica🤣(he played along of course haha). Romanians take pride in their hospitality and he loves Romania too; you did a great job in discribing us perfectly. 🙌 P.S. : everyone who talks so highly of our culture is a great asset to our country. Bonus Romanian. You will be a great medical field worker personnel💯
I was working in Nice and at one point a new colleague joined us, he is from Cameroon, we connected immediatelly and kept talking in a mixt of english/french. After about a week of working together (we made a great team), while at work, in the heat of the moment, he asked me something but i couldn't understand it, then he asked again and again i didnt get it, then he raised his tone and clearly asked me, in Romanian🤯 "frate, nu intelegi Romana?!" With a great pronounciation and tonality, i was shooocked and in awe, turned out he speaks Romanian perfectly. We are great friends since then. Now i find you here talking so warm about my country like inside your heart are more Romanian than any of us. Thank you very much Sir. You're doing a much better job than our president or any paid promotion campaign.
Funny story 🙂. It is great that you make an effort to understand our way of thinking/being. People from other countries just judge us, without knowing about us too much. Wish you a pleasant time in Romania 😉
Anytime you look different from the locals it will draw attention to yourself. I was in Tanzania in 2017 where some locals that not only stared at me but would poke at my skin to see if it was really whitish or was it a colored cream trying to alleviate some kind of skin conditions I was dealing with. Not saying that peoples stares are a pleasant thing to have to endure but at least you weren't being unwantedly probed and touched.
I’m romanian and whenever I see a black person I try not to stare because I don’t want to offend them, but ngl I’d do it 24/7 just out of curiosity. I’m white af and I wish I could have some kind of a tan that’s close to black skin.
We're the same age and until like 3 years ago I haven't even seen a black person in real life. I try not to stare but i doubt the older generation knows it's not polite and it would be even more of an extraordinary thing for them after all those years
Yes, I can only imagine how strange it can be for them after 60+ years of no actual contact with a black person. It really must be extraordinary as you said😅
Ma bucur ca nu te simti discriminat sau cumva aiurea la noi in tara, asa este, avem tendinta sa ne holbam, din curiozitate, si pentru simplul fapt ca suntem obisnuiti cu oameni cu pielea alba sau putin creola, si fara sa ne dam seama ne uitam mai mult, dar am observat ca nu este placut, eu una incerc sa nu ma mai holbez, pana la urma incepem sa ne obisnuim cu mai multi oameni de diferite nationalitati, rase, etc. Felicitari pentru faptul ca studiati medicina, mult succes !
brilliant! I am fom bucharest, and im 26 years old, what can i say about this story from my country's point of view is that we lived in isolation for so many years, and yes we've seen colored people only in movies, so when we see a black person on our streets it makes us feel good and proud, like we are FINALLY a normal, more advanced country than we used to be until nowadays. I think most of the young people here are fascinated with this new kind of view, so may you feel like a celebrity, enjoy and many blessings!
@@wendellbatts2477 im sorry, "people of color", here means the same with colored people, cause we are not familliar with all the terms accepted socially. *not meant to offend anyone 😇🙏
@@chill_and_thrive "colored people does as it's a racially derogatory term to describe blacks, especially here in the states ,that goes back a long way. Just so you know.
@@wendellbatts2477 I never knew there is a difference between "colored people" and "people of color". In my opinion, "black person" would be the simplest and most neutral way to say address blacks.
this video was more mature than I would have ever expected from a 22 year old. I really really enjoyed it, as it's probably one of the few times a foreginer is actually honest and pragmatic about how we act around people we've never seen before in the same setting. Congrats! I'm subscribing rn
“Special” you said it. Old timers stare in curiosity because back in their day they were isolated from the rest of the world. So in a country predominantly Romanian…everything/everyone foreign was special. The old gentleman who took a photo is no exception, he probably thought that he might not see a black person again. To him you are special and you’ll be remembered as the nice foreign young man who allowed him to take a photo. But we’re honest people and if you ever get in a negative situation, it won’t be because the colour of your skin but because people will be people, no matter where you are; we have douche bags too
😂😂😂I have remembered in 2020 was walking in București where I met old people who have never seen black so they stopped me and all wanted to touch my hair it felt so sweet they wanted to communicate with me but they didn't know English and I didn't know Romanian language 😂😂😂😂
Hello! I am glad that you are among us and that you have understood well the reality present in our country ... As a man of another color you are welcome here but between us there is a language barrier ... The young can still communicate with you but the old cannot communicate with you even though they would like a lot and speak to you from their heart ... It is important for us to show you that you are welcome from the beginning ... you still need to know that we would like you to feel at home here. ..to know that we want you to be here and be our friend or even to form a family with us ... regardless of color, religion or ideals in life
During the 80s there were many black African students in Romania, but only in big cities with universities. But after the fall of communism, they stopped coming as they no longer received scholarships. So yes, it is a curiosity. You are like we say "simpatic".
We Romanians have no problem with skin color. Man is not defined by skin color. Welcome to Romania. If Romanians look more closely, this is how we usually look, compared to the English, where they avoid looking at a person too much.
I'm glad you were treated well, I was a little worried 😭. I don't want my country to embarrass itself in front of others. Thankfully, as far as I know, we aren't aggressive enough even if one was racist to harm another person, if anything, rather passive aggressive compared to others. But anyway, glad you are having fun! As a youngster, I try not to stare when I notice a foreigner to not bother them ^^
Great video man! I am Romanian and I will add to the point about 'never being a Romanian". I don't think that is true, being Romanian is more than just genetics, since clearly we are made up (in varying degrees) of saxons, romanii, latins, slavs, mogyers, jews, arabs and i dare say even (more recently) asians and africans. Being Romanian is a way of life, culture, and way of seeings the world, which honestly anyone can embrace. We have a great person by the name of Cabral Ibraca (famous boxer and tv personality) who is black and yet he sees himself as Romanian, and rightly so. :)
@@romaniac He is right, I am a Romanian from Moldova (the republic) and to me, Cabral is the most Romanian Romanian with an extra pinch of Romaniannes on top. It's not about your skin colour indeed.
It’s a little different with Cabral because he was born and raised in Romania, and his mother is Romanian, he has Romanian blood he is only half black haha
Hi! I am romanian, and i never shake hands with a black people, or a chinese, or an indian, and when i see one i stared, bechause i've only seen on movie. For me it's like a movie star comming in My town, so sorry If i disturb but it is not a bad intention
We stare because we are not used to see different people coming in our country but most of the people are not racist. When we move in other countries, they treat us bad, so, we learned how it feels. 😊
I stare because I cannot believe that the Romanian government and people are gullible enough to offer them residence. We see what they do in Western nations, but we're gullible or stupid enough to think they actually have something to offer us.
honestly i find it wierd that black people come to live and work in romania instead of going to france or uk as they already know french or english,whyle us romanians leave romania for western europeean countries
As someone who is born and raised in Romania I can say that: - we really don't distinguish between different types of black people. For a lot of high-school kids, their only interaction with black culture is through rap and hip-hop (stuff like Tupac, Ice Cube, Biggie, etc..), which has had quite a bit of influence on our perception of how a black person looks / behaves - yeah, people would stare a lot. Seeing a black person almost feels like the "event of the week"; and not gonna lie, for some older folk it might be out of fear or some type of preconceived bias, it's like they don't even have the concept of a black person in Romania. When it comes to younger people, it's usually not out of malice, like when I walk with my friends on the street and they see a black person, they'd usually say "Wow, a black guy. That's so cool!" - I have no idea what you see in this country, but I'm glad you like it : ))
Many Romanians ,especially the older ones, have only seen a black person in the movies so your actual presence does spur alot of interest.If anyone stares at you just salute them saying Hello and all will be good😁
Thank you so much for telling your story. Much appreciated. I feel sorry for the black students in Ukraine who has been caught up in the war and they are being treated very badly at the Polish border. Thanks again for sharing your experience. Be safe brother. Watching from Sweden
This is great. Im heading there in a few weeks from the USA and quite frankly, Im excited and a bit nervous as well. Being black, living in America and being originally from the Caribbean if that gives some perspective. Great vid man.
As a Romanian living for 22 years in Italy, I hope you are always welcome wherever you go in Romania. Someone might be racist even without realising it, as like pinpointing you are black every so often because of ignorance. If you see things you don't like, speak up and ask: "doar suntem egali, nu-i asa?" I've had my share of ignorance and stubborn denial here in Italy, but I'm still kicking ass each and every time they try to put me in a corner.
as you can tell, romania is white as hell...i live in a big city and whenever i see a person of colour i get very curious and want to get to know them better
How funny is that?! You're form London and you live in Romania, I am from Romania and I live in London. I agree with everything you said on this video and I really hope that you felt welcome to Romania as I felt welcome to London! 🥰
I am a Romanian now living in London and I did my Master in Theology in Seoul, South Korea. I can relate to your experience, I had those curious stares as even there white is not the norm and had some people just come and wanted to take pictures with me because I was white. I didn't mind and I really enjoyed being there.
I mean, the one place where we shoot ourselves (as Romanians) in the foot with this is with the sense of humor. PC culture is just starting to penetrate this society and we tend to make jokes that are otherwise wayyy too edgy and inconsiderate for most western countries, which often at times makes us look as if we're more discriminative, conservative or racists than most people actually are (though we do still have those kind of people, just like any other country) Later edit: Regarding the stare. Yup, can confirm. I even caught myself sometimes doing that, but it's almost always fascination and curiosity because we hardly have any black people. I know it'll sound wrong, but you guys are sort of exotic here because of multi-ethnic demographic scarcity. Many from small towns would stare at Asians in the same way, but there isn't any racism behind it, more like naive fascination. Subscribed btw. :)
Omg I just moved here! As a person of color I love it here. I’m from Cape Town, South Africa, I do miss seeing more of the ‘rainbow nation’ that we have in the melting cultural pot that is South Africa but everyone is so nice and curious as you say 👍🏽😊
Welcome to Ro and i really hope you enjoy your staying here and feel welcomed. This topic about skin colour here in Ro makes me laugh everytime. We don't understand this racism here in Ro. We all humans and period. In general we stare cause we don't know how to say nicely welcome to our country and if enjoying your stay or need some help. Come visit Iasi. Is full of students from everywhere. Indeed like any other country we have bad people crazy on his thinking but don't generalize us from a person or two. Mostly we are raged about government people that are bad and we hate cause nothing good comes from the young generation to lead a government with a strong hand. Other things like racism are so silly 😂😂
You understood pretty well . It's just a matter of years and you won't be getting those stares anymore . You are just something different and special in the same time and older people don't know how to react to you most likely :)) . With the racism part , we Romanians can be racist but not with black people . There is stigma in Romania with the gypsy people which is unfortunate ,because they were kind of in the same position as black people in America 100 years ago . That's why they are poor and tend to do bad things and not try to get into schools . Hopefully this will change in time as our society evolves . For black people I wouldn't worry too much , and please don't feel bad when you hear the word "nigger" because Romanians have no idea of the sense of that word . They think it means black brother from the american movies or they associate it with the word "negru" from the latin "negro" which means black. Most likely that is where the English language got it from but it's usage is horrible. Most of us don't know the tragedy behind that word . Just feel safe and do whatever is good for you ,most likely people will love you even more if you learn our language ,because of that pride that you spoke of . Have a good stay here bro and all the best !
Just something I want to add about the "stigma" about gypsy. This community is not without their own issues. Romanian people are usually peaceful. So when we see a community that tends to have a lot of bullies, who tends to steal or do other bad stuffs, then we kind of learn our lesson. I had cases when some of these gypsy people tried to pick on me without me even say a word to them or doing anything against them. They probably felt I'm less dangerous than your average guy (I'm neither big, nor scary) so, for example, one of these guys started to call me names while waiting the green light at an intersection. This didn't happen in Bucharest but in my home town. I didn't have any problems with anyone from this community here in Bucharest, but I experienced a case in a bus where an old man started to fight with a gypsy women because she tried to put her hand in his pockets (basically she was trying to steal his wallet). Another unpleasant experience with someone from this race happened while I was dining with my sister outside (it was a sunny day) at a restaurant. This kid asked for money and I was telling him that I won't give him money. And he kept staying there and ask me: why? And it doesn't matter that I told him to go, he didn't want to leave the table. I never had these types of experiences with non-gypsies. So what I'm trying to say is that we are not racists. We don't think we are better than others. But we also can't be blind when most of the experiences with people from a certain community are unpleasant. There is a saying here: always the first impression counts the most.
@@sfappetrupavelandrei I agree. I think the word racism is missused here with gypsies. We tend to avoid and think badly of them because most of us had a lot of bad experiences with gypsies. There are very few gypsies I met that were nice people and I was interacting with them as with any other person, but most gypsies I've encountered stole from me, bullied me, tried to pick up fights from nothing, spat on me, etc. Most gypsies don't make an effort to change their ways and that's what brings romanians to be cautious around them.
A vlogar went to Africa and everyone called him MUZUNGU....which means WHITE and looking long after him...but he wasn't uncomfortable, I don't know why you are so sensitive... First of all you introduce yourself as black and nobody's discriminating you in Romania. I believe we should all be happy and thankful to God for everything HE did for us, for our skin, hair and eye color, family, place and country we were born etc. When I was a child I remember that I was also very curious to see black people and to look close to them to see if is any difference in between us and I was very impressed with the beautiful outstanding white color of your teeth and mine is more yellowish. That happened when I didn't have the chance to see black people in real just on TV, so human nature curiosity and after I was familiar with and everything is normal. In California racism is at the ceiling, and the whites discriminated...and nobody does anything to stop it. At least in Romania you will never experience that.
I wached videos made by a white French couple and they were very bothered that people were staring at them. I think I know what they are telling : eye contact is avoided in Paris fr example whereas Romanians can make eye contact. I think that Romanians behave more like people in a vllage : theu care about each other even if they don't know each other. There are racist people but racism is severely criticized and punished. Black students in Romania are more ofter in couple with a with person than say in France.
I am a Romanian, soon in my 50thies but living and working in London for 6 years for now :)). I have worked abroad since my young years so, I am used with foreigners of all races. I tried always to make more tolerable and understanding my people when I came back home... I really wish you a great experience in Bucharest and I apologise to you for all my co nationals who made you feel bad in any way. I am grateful to UK society and as a country for what I live here... Of course, I had some "funny" experiences with "pure white British"... as an East European I wasn't good enough... All the best to you... by the way... do you know the actor Victor Yila? I have to check if I wrote correct his surname!
For God so Loved the World that He Gave His Only Son that whoever Believes in Him shall not Perish but Shall have Eternal Life John 3 16 Jesus Christ died Upon A Cross and rose to save the Lost God Love is for All People
If I was black I’d go to Romania, and recommend it to my many friends who are. Imagine going to a country where people are interested in you because of your skin color being so different. Romanians are welcoming, friendly and funny. I know, I’ve been there for work with other black friends and they were quite popular.
I’ll tell you something that might help you understand how it is in a country that was always white 100% and closed for about 45 years behind the Iron Curtain and where you could see a handful of Africans only starting from the late Sixties in Bucharest, Cluj, Timisoara, Craiova or Iași, because these were the only cities with universities where foreign students were allowed. The Romanian students got very often into trouble if they became too friendly with the foreign students - they were warned that if they did discuss politics or travel or any other subject (except for the study subjects) with foreigners, they had to fill in a report at the secret police called Securitate and describe point by point in writing their conversation, (on occasions several times, so that inaccurate bits could be spotted/verified). There were laws in place forbidding foreigners to be guests in a Romanian home after 10pm - they were allowed to sleep only in hotels/hostels, not in Romanian homes, so if a Romanian family invited an African student that was a classmate of their own child to dinner for example, they had to ask them to leave at 10pm or register their guest with the secret police. Once the guest was registered, the hosts had to fill in bunch of reports about their visitor and their conversations. I’m Romanian and during communism, as a child, I lived in a small town with no university, of course. When I was about 12, we went in holidays and visited the botanical garden in Cluj. I will never forget this: as we left the garden, right in front of it we bumped into an African young man - I almost fainted! My knees buckled, I was so shocked, I could not utter a word, all I could do was squeeze my mother’s hand really hard, making sure she’d see what I was seeing… and I stared and stared, of course… while walking, I turned my head back several times, until my mother scolded me. Although she was as shocked as me, because that was the first time she saw a black person in the flesh as well and she was much older than me!! The only one who saw black people before was my father because he spent few years abroad when he was young, before the communists locked all of us up inside the country forever. We were allowed to travel only in the Eastern Block countries, but it was expensive and complicated and not even for the communist countries was easy to get a passport when I was a child. Until the age of 12 I saw black or Asian people only in black and white movies (not many were in colour yet in our neck of the woods) in book illustrations and very-very rarely in French fashion magazines - the communists didn’t import a lot of printed material from outside, therefore it wasn’t like we had The Times magazine on every news-stand ! 😃 It took me another 6 years until I had the chance to see another black person and 8 until I’ve met an Arab and a Vietnamese for the first time in my life, by then I was 20 yo. Of course they stare, it might be the second or the third time they are facing a black person in their entire life and for some, might still be their first time if they just descended from some remote village somewhere…
Yes ! It was like that in comunism era, and i am so glad that my kids grow up now in a democrat era. ❤ We stare becose you all are very fascinating for us, but we are proud that you choose our poor country to stay in ,and i really hope in the future we will be much better ❤
Imo it’s wrong to tell somebody that they can’t be around another ethnicity imo it only make a better opportunity and more chances for meeting new ppl or meeting a person that you find attractive whoever was in charge of most things back then idk what they was thinking I’m an American and I dream of going different places and meeting new ppl cuz tbh I feel my country sucks
@@76ers_Apache Look at Putler TODAY, a former communist and KGB employee, he’s telling Ukrainians that they are not a nation, their country is not a “real” one and therefore it should not exist and they are all Nazis because they speak Ukrainian and not Russian. Now if that moron can say this in the 21st century, what did you expect from the idiots preceding him who took power in the 40s!! If this moron didn’t learn anything from the past 80 years, that should help anyone understand why communism is not good: it pulls people backwards, it’s incompatible with intelligence, freedom and progress and democracy and freedom of speech and freedom of movement and so much more.
I’m African American and I think I have to see Romania in person, I’m curious to see what it’s like. I won’t mind if people look at me I’ll just look at them back until we speak to each other 😂
hey man, you made my lough 😂. Yeah, I know. I am Romanian living in the UK and one day I came with one of my ex-girlfriend which is black and showed her my country and she also said that old people were staring at her all the time :)) yeah it's ok don't worry it's not about racism is just as you said it. They have never seen it before.
Great video. I'm a white American living in Romania for several years now (married to a Romanian). I grew up in Texas where my large high school was mostly black students, so some of my friends were black. However, it IS strange even to me these days when I see a black person in Romania because, yes, it is very rare. If you wonder if Romanians are sugar-coating their conversations with you because you are black, I'll say this: I've never heard a Romanian "talk bad" about black people. Plus, it's been my experience that Romanians usually speak their mind. Even though I'm sure it happens (not just about black people), I do not get the feeling from my Romanian relatives and work colleagues that they are racist against black people; Romanians equally criticize all peoples and all situations. JK... sort of. I too get stared at by old people and have tried the eye-lock thing too with no prevail. With me, it's mostly old men who do this, and I almost feel like they are sizing me up thinking: "I could take could take you in a fight." Whatever it is, it's not a happy stare. Perhaps they endured who knows what awful mess during Communism and are just expressing hurt through their stare (I don't pretend to know their reason for doing it). I'm not wildly different looking from them (my wife even says that I look Romanian). So perhaps I get stared (down) at for different reasons than black people. :) As a foreigner, I do get the feeling that Romanians are trying too hard to prove their value. They always are trying to "one-up" me in jokes and if I tell a joke immediately after they tell a joke, they tend to turn what I say to something factual "Well actually, chickens don't have a reason for crossing roads - they cross or they don't cross." (They didn't actually say that to me, but this example clearly shows how they take things that I say seriously when I thought we were in a mutual, light hearted, joking point in our conversation). I guess that's me. Therefore, I find myself having to go extra out of my way to ensure them that I always valued them. And finally, I feel like they're always trying to dress me (literally) and change me in general. Just last night I went to a kids Christmas play at church, and one of the leadership was signaling to my Romanian brother-in-law about me, asking why I'm wearing short sleeve shirt and if I am cold (though I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself). Romanians LOVE to crank up the heat in the winter and then wear turtle-neck shirts; I do not. I'm not set in my American ways, and feel that I've been pretty flexible when it comes to "when in Rome--Romania..." but the feeling here is like an expectation to assimilate to almost EVERY viewpoint and when I refuse in some cases, it's as if I've not yet evolved to their level yet: "Oh you'll see; wrapping your baby like a mummy and putting them in a winter coat in the summer heat is what's best for them - you haven't learned this yet." Another example, I was a residential construction worker in America, and so I know that building an interior wall in a house/apartment out of wood studs works just fine and will not "fall over" - I lived in such constructed homes for years. Yet when I suggested this to some family members who are building a house, they laughed at me and told me that -essentially- I didn't know what I was talking about. I know that Americans tend to go to other countries and expect people to become more like them - this is a flaw in my home country. I've really done my best to NOT be like this. However, I often get the feeling here that people say my way of doing things is inferior to theirs without me even saying what my way is. And when I excel at work because I DON'T always listen to them (and do it my way) -even if I try hard to incorporate them into the solutions, they tend to no longer want to be friendly towards me. I have had good (researched) ideas shot down at work because my colleagues didn't want to think outside the box - criticized the idea to death before even considering the effects. This isn't to knock the Romanian culture nor to say everyone is like this; some people are more inclined to act like this than others. I'm doing my best to love Romanians (and would like to officially become one of them one day), and I am 100% certain that those Romanians who know me would have no trouble finding finding faults in me. Nevertheless, this has been my experience so far living in bitter-sweet Romania.
John 3:16-21 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
I live in London and when I come to Romania I find the Romanians a little insistent because I haven't lived in Romania for a few years. I'm used to it like in the UK, where people don't look at you too much. I'm white and Romanian too. So it's about our way of being. Don't stress about it.
I have a friend from Madagascar she is half Asian half black, a really interesting mix and she told me that people stare at her a lot, but the thing is she is in a small city here in Romania which did not have international exposure so I told her "it's normal", people are intrigued when they see someone very "unusual traits". In the end color of our skin does not matter, just the content of our hearts and character. :)
A Kenyan on a second year living in west Romania🇷🇴, from my experience ppl here are overly warm compared to countries in the west that I have been,My language skills r pretty basic but it goes along way as I strive to get better.This country offers a lot to just keep getting compared with the west side .
The same thing happens when a white person goes overseas in a foreign country where white is uncommon, people ask to take pictures :) then you know there are pictures of you in other people phones :) very common thou and Romanians are not doing this as a matter of racism but curiosity. Romanians are only racist towards gypsy community because of a long history of not-blending well together.
The older generation do stare much also because of 45 years of comunism where very few tourists visit our country and to the fact that you couldn't get out of the country to visit other countries.
As a kid, I spent my summer holidays in the countyside where my grandparents lived (in Romania, of course - I am Romanian). Great time, great adventures, great friends -I felt like Huckleberry Finn. The only moments I dreaded there were those when I had to go from A to B on a Saturday or Sunday: all the people in the village were out on the bench in front of their houses gossipping, and I could feel their stare burning holes through me from afar, and long after I passed the group. I was sometimes asked who were my parents (my acestry was important to them, apparently, to link the city boy to the place through his roots). I felt lucky on the days I could use my uncle's bycicle to go about my business, because that meant that I only had to salute them "on the go", without stopping for the mandatory interrogation. The Stare! I so don't miss it.
OMG I hate wearing a dress because my grandmother insisted I had to wear one when I was going in the village on a Sunday. Rest of the week we were playing barefoot pe uliță and making mud puppets. Makes me cry de dor
I lived in Romania for close to 7yrs as a Ghanaian studied medicine too and some of what you're saying rings true. That said experiences may vary but the stare is a thing if you're black or of other race you'd have to get used to it otherwise you will always feel uncomfortable. Just know theres for the most part nothing malicious about it and mostly because they see you as a novelty. Also word of advice learn the language thank me later😁
"Gipsy? No... He can't be. That's too black... Wait, is he a black guy? Must be a tourist... In Romania? Why do people come here anyway, Romania sucks..." My taughts whenever is see a black guy in Romania.
After all, it's normal when you are different than everyone else, pays attention. It also applies to whites in Africa - it probably also arouses curiosity.
Not all stares are mean, i stare out of appreciation, to see that we can live in harmony together, I'm happy to see foreigners enjoying our culture. And yes we are really obsessed with foreigners liking our country. In general Romanians are quite patriotic. Enjoy your stay in Bucharest!
Glad this video popped up in recommended. Liked and subscribed. I'm Romanian and living in Netherlands and here's the thing. I am white, but I have black, actually black, not dark, black hair, dark brown eyes and I'm about 1,75 m tall. Dutch people are blond, blue eyed and about 2 m all of them. And they all know just by looking at me that I'm a foreigner. I've felt some discrimination for being Romanian, but just like you said, I brushed it off and went on my way. My personal achievements are more important than getting mad at how someone looks at me.
Haha I call my Romanian husband a Romaniac!🤣🤣🤣 Also, my husband moved to Canada around 27 years ago. As a young boy on the subway, he saw a Black person in person for the first time and got so excited that he literally pointed them out to his mom. I can't help but wonder if staring at you is the locals' way of pointing. I'm Black, by the way, and it's crazy to think that my husband had never seen my "kind" until he was nearly a decade old! And, thanks for pointing out how we Black people aren't all the same. Another group of people who often group us all together are Black Americans. As a Canadian, I have nothing in 12:27 common with them. I can also say the same for Black people from the UK and Africa. Our culture isn't our colour, it's our country, really!
I found my birth father 3 years ago and found out I’m half Romanian so of course I want to visit my native country. I want to take my husband who is from Togo in Africa so wanted to know if it’s safe for us. Want to visit Brasov and Bucharest.
I'm glad you're talking about this. I'm half Romanian half Japanese, and I grew up here in Romania. I want to share some of my experiences too. Most people, at least those my age, are respectful, and I never really had to deal with anything particularly bad. However, growing up, kids would keep calling me Chinese, even after I had explained that I'm not and what the differences are ad nauseam. I think they didn't understand why I cared, but imagine going to Japan and the other kids keep calling you Hungarian or something. That'd be annoying. They'd say stuff like "Coni-chihuahua" (like "konnichiwa" which means "hello") or "să ai o nară" (like "sayonara" which means "goodbye"). They'd repeat these phrases over and over again until they really weren't funny anymore (not that they were that funny to begin with). Sometimes they'd just come up to me and say random Japanese phrases or words for some reason, which was always awkward. Sometimes they'd say stuff like "ching chong" bc of course they did. Baically making fun of one of my native languages just cuz they thought it's weird. I generally got along with my classmates, but ngl, when it came to my race, they'd always get weird about it. Adults were weirder though. They'd ask me "Where do you like it better? Here or in Japan?". Bruh, I was like 5. Wtf. It's like asking if I love my mom more than my dad. Or they'd ask "Why did you come here?", like I know??? My parents decided it, ask them and stop bothering me??? It's fine to ask stuff about Japan, but make it age appropriate. I was a kid lol, how was I supposed to answer those questions? I'm in Uni now, in Bucharest, no longer in Sinaia, about to finish first year, and I still get weird reactions from ppl from time to time. Once, a presumably drunk man was shouting, presumably at me (I didn't look at him but there weren't any other Asians around): "Tokyo! China! Asian monkey! Do you eat rice?". I personally find it funny, but that doesn't mean it's okay at all. Sometimes ppl don't have any ill intent though, but that's when it gets tricky. I've had teachers put me on a pedestal for being half Japanese. Kind of to a fetishistic level honestly. If I'd try to tell them stuff about Japan from my personal experience, they wouldn't listen and they'd keep talking about it, as if they know that country better than me, even though they'd never been there. One teacher even pulled her eyes in front of my brother and my mom! She didn't have any ill intent, but it's still not okay. And it's hard to point it out because they'll say "But you don't understand! I mean no offence!". I know they mean no offence, but they still put me in really awkward sitiations bc of their perception of Japan, and that's not okay. There is nothing wrong with being passionate about Japan and Japanese culture. I'm very passionate about it too! I love sharing it with people! But I really don't like it when they have this utopian view of it and then expect me to be basically above human. It's also frustrating because I'm half Romanian too! If all my good traits come from my Japanese side, does that mean my bad traits are from my Romanian side?! I just hate it when Romanians start talking about Japan like it's a perfect place because they also ALWAYS start trashing on Romania. Hello?! Romania is also my country! You don't get to talk about it like that, okay? It makes me really uncomfortable and Idk that many people whom I can talk about this with. Now to share some positives or funny things, sometimes, because I'm socially awkward, people notice I stutter and struggle to speak, so they realize I'm not 100% Romanian and they start speaking English. I can usually tell by accent that they are Romanian, but I was educated to always reply in the language I'm spoken to, so I just reply in English. That's how I end up accidentally practicing my English with strangers lol. I also wanna mention that most ppl, from my experience, are genuinely just curious about Japan and they're respectful and they listen when I tell them about things that make me uncomfortable. It's very neat, honestly. Ah, and I almost forgot: THE WEEBS! I don't mind most of them. They can be a little embarrassing to be around, but they seem to have geuine appreciation for Japan. From my experience, they're sometimes a little too eager to learn about Japan, and I'm happy to do my best to deliver! Even if that means taking off their rose-tinted glasses little by little. Anyway, all in all, I think Romania still has some rascism issues (regarding Romani people, for instance), but the average Romanian is not ill-meaning, at least speaking from personal experience.
Ok so, born in Romania but I live in the UK, and boy have I had my share of older customers who assumed they knew my country better than I just because they'd been there a couple of times. People from multiple nationalities and backgrounds, mind you, so you'd think they'd know better. But nay, seems that arrogance is a worldwide issue 😂 Thanks for sharing your experience though. And agreed, I think more people should bring up the issue of racism and indifference over there. The topic has been on my mind for some time now but finding articles written by Romanians (both native and naturalized locals) has been rather tricky. Also, I can sorta relate to the repetitiveness of certain reaction from strangers. Often times, when a new person finds out I'm Romanian they'll try to use me as a travel booklet. Some have even stopped speaking to me once they've learned everything they couldn't be bothered to google. Or they'll go on and on about Dracula and fun facts they've learned online as to impress me, without giving a crap about what I might have to say. I also date an American so my accent sounds pretty Georgian...to English people that is lmao. I get asked if 'I'm a yank' at least 2 times a day and some will take the piss out of the way I pronounce certain words. (Which is. Kinda funny tbh. But only if it's from people I know.) It all just becomes awkward and annoying and flat out draining after a while. I've only had to deal with these things since I was 17, can't imagine growing up like that. The story with the teacher pulling her eyes in front of your family was just nuts (then again, I did have a physics teacher that went on a racist rant about how much she fears Roma children,in front of my Romani clasmate, so it's not that shocking that there would be more idiots like her). I swear, people rely too much on what little they know about other places, and our culture has a huge issue when it comes to personal boundaries. And we don't speak up when things get inappropriate? Idk why, and it's one of the main reasons I've left Romania (the othes being education and me being queer, it didn't feel super safe there). Anyway dude, I'm sorry you've had to deal with so many twats and I hope public education back home realizes it's about time they start teaching people how to be more accepting, and less fucking intrusive with their questions -_-
@@Crowcus Thanks for sharing your experiences too! Definitely agree that education should change over here, especially when it comes to being more open to other cultures. I always thought that public school education here is quite Eurocentric, with seldom any acknowledgement of other continents. It's not an issue exclusive to Romania, but it is an issue and I think it'd be really neat if we'd learn a little about, say, music from other continents too. At least a little bit. Otherwise, what you get is a whole bunch of people, who probably have no ill-intent, having a mental image of East Asia that is limited by that siamese cat in The Aristocats that plays the piano with chopsticks (in the "Everybody Wants to be A Cat" scene, if you remember). And I can relate to trying to read about the topic of racism in Romania, but finding somewhat questionable stuff. I think we need to get a whole lot better at talking about these issues because at this moment, I think I know more about BLM than about what's going on in Romania, which is weird. And maybe we can also talk more about other topics of discrimination like anti-lgbtq+, ableism, ageism, sexism etc. because we've... I mean, it's not the worst place to be in, but it can be better. My mom would be pretty upset she'd find out I wanna go to the Pride Parade/March/Protest and she's all I got so it's kinda hard for _me_ to do that stuff, so I guess I'm a bit of a hypocrite by saying we should be doing stuff when I'm not doing that stuff. I hope things are going well for you in the UK. I heard some pretty bad things on YT in terms of how queer people are treated. Stay safe.
