This Saturday is a public holiday, the assumption of Saint Mary, or “Sfânta Maria Mare.” Some things will be closed, including the offices of the Făclia Newspaper, and perhaps post offices that…
Category: opinion
Brussels versus Cluj
What is the difference between Brussels and Cluj? This is like comparing apples to oranges. But, we can compare the two cities. Economy The primary driver of Cluj’s economy is ten universities. …
Which Romanians smoke?
I was going to write why Romanians smoke, but then I discovered that over half of Romanians are non-smokers. But, like bulgaria, Romanians are more likely to be poor, more likely to…
Noise levels continue to rise in Cluj
It makes sense that some things are noisy. On construction sites, employees are given head sets to block out extra noise. I had some kind of sound blockers when I worked in…
American franchises vs American food
In many ways, Cluj is not unique. In some ways, however, it is. Here you can get all kinds of food from all over the world. I haven’t tried the Cluj hotdogs…
AI helps spammers and scammers look less like bots
If you’ve lived in Romania long enough, you know the stereotypes. Bank transfers to and from the country are a headache. It’s even worse if you have Belgian or Portuguese citizenship. Countries…
Ghost jobs come to Romania
If you look at LinkedIn or job sites, you might think there are plenty of jobs in Cluj. But how many of those jobs are real? Now, you might think, sure, some…
True journalism still exists
Many broadcasters have had their budgets cut. Often, this comes at the expense of journalism. As former British Prime Minister (and journalist) Boris Johnson once noted, many journalists today report from an…
Before you make a social media app…
We heard a conversation between an immigrant and some students, about a Federal Europe. The pro-federalist students mentioned that Europe doesn’t have its own Facebook or big social media companies. The foreigner…
What Foreign visitors tell us about Romanian cuisine…
A foreign visit to Romania shows local food that isn’t traditional. Burgers, kebabs, laiden with fatty and sugary sauces. Eventually, we fall upon mici (miches? Miki?), but they come with a side…