Monthly Archives: November 2025

Don’t worry, Gru did not steal the moon

A mini-moon will be on display in Cluj Napoca.  It is based on NASA photos, and will look like the moon might have if Gru from Despicable Me really succeeded in shrinking the moon to 1/500000 of its real size. … Continue reading

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Update on the Mississippi Miracle

This is about Cluj, not Mississippi, right? Well, as we’ve shown before, Cluj businesses which claim to provide services in English (including those that translate advertisements into English), use bad English that no native speaker can understand.  Therefore, we think … Continue reading

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Over 6000 police actions concerning immigration in 2025

According to the “INSPECTORATUL GENERAL PENTRU IMIGRĂRI” (yes, that’s the institution you talk to in the basement of the mall), immigration police have acted 6020 times in the first ten months of 2025. Through these actions, they found 2173 foreigners … Continue reading

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Kendamanai takes Cluj

A few weeks ago, we saw Kandama’s outside schools, appartment blocks, homes, and parks throughout Cluj. However, on Saturday, Iulius Mall had a Kendama competition which overtook all expectations. On the stage, a few at a time could compete with … Continue reading

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How medical refugees come to Romania

Different countries have different attitudes toward refugees.  The process in many European countries seems backwards.  Many people who are allowed to live in Belgian, for instance, are not allowed to apply for work. Romania asks its refugees to work.  After … Continue reading

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Was Kintsugi in Cluj before Japan?

The story of Kintsugi is as follows.  When a shogun in Japan, perhaps Yoshimasha, broke his pot, he sent it to China to be repaired.  There, it was repaired with ugly staples.  So, the next time a teapot broke, it … Continue reading

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Expats love Cluj’s version of Mark Twain

In the film festival, we saw the screens of Cluj.  During the rest of the year, we have visited the three main theatres. The Hungarian Theatre is showing an adaptation of “Tom Sawyer” toward the end of every night.  Expats … Continue reading

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24b is a bilingual bus

You may have heard a few languages in Cluj.  We often hear French, German, and of course Hungarian in addition to Romanian.  A few people speak English, but when we hear it, it is more like Romglish (Romanian with a … Continue reading

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“Chaos” as card machines go offline at Auchan

There was an announcement shortly after 3pm this afternoon at the Auchan’s in Cluj.   It was in Romanian, but here is a rough translation. “Dear shoppers.  We are sorry to inform you that we cannot accept payment by card at … Continue reading

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How new tarriff rules could tax expats

A Latvian once told me a joke about a Russian family on vacation.  The Russian family went far over the baggage allowance, but somehow everything fit on the plane. When they arrived in New York City, the customs people looked … Continue reading

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