Lesson Notes

Unlock In-Depth Explanations & Exclusive Takeaways with Printable Lesson Notes

Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.

Or sign up using Facebook
By clicking Join Now, you agree to our Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and to receive our email communications, which you may opt out at any time.
Already a Member?

Lesson Transcript

All About, Lesson 8 - The Top 5 Things You Need to Know About Romanian Society
ROMANIANPOD101.COM
Lesson Type: All About (mart)
Season: 1
Lesson Number: 8
Eric: Hi everyone, and welcome back to RomanianPod101.com. This is All About, Lesson 8 - The top five things you need to know about Romanian society.
Raluca: Salut, I’m Raluca.
Eric: In this lesson, we’re going to tell you more about life in Romania.
Raluca: There are so many aspects to Romanian society, it’s hard to know where to begin!
Eric: Well, since the title of this lesson is “The Top Five Things You Need to Know About Romanian Society,” I picked five topics.
Raluca: Which are….?
Eric: Romania’s major cities, family life, Romanian economy and work culture, politics, and finally Romanian lifestyle.
Raluca: Let’s begin with Romanian cities. Romania’s charming ancient capital is Bucharest. Bucharest has a growing cultural life with its own unique atmosphere, which is a combination of interwar and communist culture.
Eric: Ah yes, Bucharest! It’s the country’s largest and most populated city, with over 1.9 million people.
Raluca: It is also the centre for politics. It is where the Romanian government and Parliament, the Prime Minister, and the President of the Romanian Republic are based.
Eric: Unlike other European capitals, Bucharest’s history goes back only a few centuries, and it was first mentioned in a document from the court of Prince Vlad the Impaler of Vallachia, who inspired the creation of the myth of Dracula.
Raluca: The first impression that we get when visiting the city is that it’s massive and rigid because of the communist architecture.
Eric: Yes, the architectural style was very specific to European communism, and is known for being used to create an image that communicated pure functionality.
Raluca: Yes, so a lot of tourists might not like the city if they judge it by its cover. However, Bucharest has maintained the Old City, the ruins of Old Princely Court, and a lot of old churches.
Eric: The old city has a cultural interwar atmosphere which is very unique and captivating.
Raluca: Yes, that’s true! Bucharest evokes interwar ages and communist ages...
Eric: The Parliament Palace for example...
Raluca: Parliament Palace is definitely the best example of communist-era architecture in the world.
Eric: It’s really huge!
Raluca: Yes! It’s bigger then Cheops’ Pyramid.
Eric: Oh, really?
Raluca: Yes, it’s the largest and heaviest administrative building on Earth
Eric: Oh...wow...Romanians must be proud to have such a building in their country.
Raluca: Well, there are people who are really proud...but personally I’m not.
Eric: Really? Why?
Raluca: Because they demolished a great part of the old city to accomplish the wishes of Ceausescu, the last Romanian dictator.
Eric: I understand, that does seem like a shame. Now...let’s move to another city.
Raluca: Next is Iași.
Eric: It’s recognized as the second major city in Romania after Bucharest, right?
Raluca: Yes, it’s located in the Moldova region.
Eric: Throughout history, Iași has been considered one of the leading centers of Romanian culture and development.
Raluca: Many Romanian academics, poets, writers, artists, and musicians started their career here and it used to be referred as the biggest source of Romanian talent.
Eric. That’s interesting! Is it an old city?
Raluca: Yes. It’s one of the oldest cities of Romania, and is deeply rooted in history.
The archaeological research mentions the presence of prehistoric communities.
Eric: Wow! Now let’s hear about some of its tourist attractions.
Raluca: At the top of the list are the Princely Saint Nicolas Church, St. Paraschiva Metropolitan Cathedral, Trei Ierarhi Church, the Palace of Culture, The Great Synagogue, the Central University Library, and the Technical University Library.
Eric: Almost all of them are located in the city area called Golden Plateau.
Raluca: Now let’s talk about Cluj-Napoca and Timișoara.
Eric: They’re both western centers of culture and University Centers, right?
Raluca: And not only that. They’re also big in regards to economy and development.
Eric: Timișoara was first mentioned in written documents in the 11th century
Raluca: Yes. It’s an old city. The center of the city has buildings from the Austrian Empire Era.
Eric: Just like Cluj-Napoca...
Raluca: Yes, but Cluj- Napoca is much older then Timișoara
Eric: Its history goes back about 8,000 years, right?
Raluca: That’s correct Eric. Now let’s talk about my favourite cities.
Eric: Which are...
Raluca: Sibiu and Brasov. They’re both in the center of the country.
Eric: Meaning they’re close to great tourist attractions.
Raluca: Yes, for example, Bran Castle, Peleș Castle, and Râșnov Citadel are also in the center.
Eric: Sibiu is really beautiful. It’s the city I most want to visit.
Raluca: I understand why. Sibiu is a small city where the medieval area was very well preserved even during the communist regime.
Eric: What about Brașov?
Raluca: Brașov is surrounded by the Southern Carpathians.
Eric: We can see that the mountains are very, very close.
Raluca: Yes, like a citadel!
Eric: Listeners, we recommend both cities as starting points for your exploration of Romania.
Raluca: Those are the major Romanian cities. Now let’s move to the next topic…
Eric: It’s an important aspect of Romanian society - the family.
Raluca: The Romanian lifestyle is a combination between the oriental and occidental lifestyles. It’s possible to meet very traditional families with more than three children. These types of families usually live in the countryside areas, where people produce their own food.
Eric: The majority of Romanian families have one or two children. It’s also said that Romania is a hierarchical society where age and status must be respected.
Raluca: Absolutely. We do respect our elders. I remember having to agree with my grandmother even when our opinions were different.
Eric: Romanian cuisine is an important aspect of Romanian culture because every dish can be identified with a region or even a family, and also because meal time is a family time in Romania.
Raluca: That’s true, family members expect to eat together around the table. I remember my parents waiting for me at 8.30 in the evening to have dinner together after my gymnastics training.
Eric: Holidays and family events are also moments when the whole family is gathered. Now let’s move on to talk about another aspect of Romanian society…
Raluca: The Romanian economy and working culture.
Eric: Romania’s economy is ranked as the 27th largest in the European Region and 50th in the world.
Raluca: The communist regime was installed in Romania until 1989. The economy was one of the fields affected by the regime
Eric: After the revolution, a series of reforms were carried out which led to economic improvement. The economic growth was registered as being among the fastest in Europe until 2009.
Raluca: And currently, Romania is a regional leader in fields like vehicle production and IT.
Eric: The top products exported are cars, vehicle parts, refined petroleum, and rubber tires. The top export destinations are countries in the European Union.
Raluca: Bucharest is one of the most developed cities in Eastern Europe and the most developed in Romania.
Raluca: The other cities at the top of the list are Timișoara, Brașov, Sibiu, and Cluj-Napoca.
Raluca: Tourism started to develop after the fall of the communist regime and year by year the number of tourists is growing.
.
Eric: But Romania’s economy still needs a lot of improvement. Let’s hope that happens as soon as possible. Now, topic number four is Romanian politics.
Raluca: Eric, do you know why all the Unification Squares in Romania have a statue of King Michael the Brave?
Eric: Oh, because he unified all the Romanian principalities?
Raluca: Exactly! He was the first king to do that.
Eric: As we mentioned in a previous lesson, unification was always a political subject in Romania.
Raluca: Yes, and it still is now. The second and last Big Unification was done in 1918 on December 1st by King Carol the 1st.
Eric: The monarchy was abolished in 1947 making the country a communist republic until December 1989 when the cruel Romanian revolution took place.
Raluca: Yes. The dictator Ceausescu and his wife were executed.
Eric: A democratic Romanian republic based on a multi-party system was installed afterwards.
Raluca: The current President of the Romanian Republic is Klaus Iohannis, who leads the National Liberal Party.
Eric: But the government has changed many times, and corruption is unfortunately still a feature in Romanian politics.
Raluca: Sadly that’s true…..
Eric: Okay, let’s finish with our topics on Romanian society! The last aspect we’re going to cover is the Romanian lifestyle.
Raluca: The Romanian lifestyle changed drastically when the communist regime was installed.
Eric: The traces of this can be felt even today.
Raluca: That’s right.
Eric: The Romanian pre-communist lifestyle must have suffered changes during the period of restriction and fear.
Raluca: Yes, but it didn’t completely disappear.
Eric: In Romania the family is very important and manners are a must, especially when talking with someone older.
Raluca: Romanians express themselves freely and criticize things a lot, but they will rarely be direct in public.
Eric: Why is that?
Raluca: I think this mindset is a holdover from the communist period.
Eric: I see. So what are Romanians passionate about?
Raluca: Romanians like art, fashion, music, gastronomy, parties, and gatherings. It’s very common to invite friends and family home or to a restaurant for conversation, accompanied by a glass of wine or beer.
Eric: Yes, I noticed that among friends and family Romanians feel free to express themselves, ask for advice, and share opinions.
Raluca: Of course! And vacations and holidays are the perfect time to spend with family or friends.
Eric: What are the the top outdoor activities that Romanians love?
Raluca: Fishing, skiing, swimming, mountain climbing, playing European football or volleyball....and many others I guess
Eric: Oh, it seems Romanians are very active people.
Raluca: Except for those who like to surf the Internet!
Eric: Yes… but that’s an activity in most places in the world.
Raluca: So, back to the Romanian lifestyle...
Eric: Romanians are generally friendly and open-minded, and they easily accept other opinions and cultures.
Raluca: That’s right. Our listeners should not be surprised if Romanians try to speak French, English, or German with them.
Eric: Making guests feel comfortable is what Romanians are good at. Well, that does it for this lesson. Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you next time.
Raluca: La revedere! We’ll be waiting for you in our next All About Romania lesson!

Comments

Hide