Loving Romania =4=

This post is closer to the people surrounding me, girls who are survivors of a systems that's pushing them to sentimental suicide. Since I came home, I mostly met with my girlfriends. I haven't seen or to talked to some in a while. They are all my age and we know each other pretty well and talk about everything and anything. I am talking about girls I know from highschool, work or university. Other than the fact that they are my friends, another thing they have in common is their relationship with guys. When I left everybody was almost "married" and now most are sad, lonely or in confusing situations. I feel like everything turned upside down. I am definitely not talking about myself now, but about all the girls around me, who feel bad and sometimes do stupid things not to think about "those who we don't speak about". I usually take the side of the opposite sex, because I know that girls can sometimes be difficult, but these days I've been a little confused. I don't get who's fault is it: girls or boys?! I don't know if these things were there before and I was to selfish to see them or I just missed for a while and forgot that it's not all rainbows and butterflies. I have not faced these problems for a while, not coming from other people than myself. I thought I was the only one having problems and going into odd situations.

Is it just because of the weather?! Is my generation mentally deranged and we will not manage to procreate, because we are all to confused to see into each others eyes?! Are we not willing to make sacrifices anymore and stopped believing in feelings?! Are feelings just another part of this world of consumption, and we started looking for the cheapest, because we know that if it will not work and we are not sad when we “throw it away and get another one”?! Do we all believe and live a fake Western life we are not yet ready to comply with, and we get lost and confused by the too many things we would like to have in a society that offers little to people my age?!

Loving Romania =3=

Fault 3 

We don't know. Go to Denmark!

The incident with the bus controller pushed me to finding more information about the transportation card released by the Ministry of Education for the 50% off.

Step 1: Try to find the needed information on the Ministry's of Education website. Total failure, as people like me don't really exist for them. Still, I found information about a place where you can get public information, a building that was a street away from the Ministry. The schedule on the internet for Monday was 8:30 - 16:30 (http://www.edu.ro/index.php/articles/c247/)

Step 2: I went there to find the information missing from the website. I found the place pretty fast, the building I mean. I pass into an entrance, a door on each side, one says International Students and the other Register. I go through the one that says International Students (department for foreign students coming to study in Romania), and ask about the place where I can get public information. I am directed to the door across the entrance, saying Register. Inside, I was expecting to find lots of cashier desks and people nervously demanding their rights. It was nothing like that, complete silence...and two door again, saying nothing. I knock at one of them and go in. I ask about the public information desk and a woman tells me she only works from 14. "...but, but...the website..." "I don't know what the website says, it's from 14" Still, I must admit she was kind enough to ask me what I want.

My text was: "I am a student in Denmark, without grant, on my own, and I would like to know what my rights and obligations are during my stay in Romania, because while I was in Spain I could get student reduction on my Danish student card, but here not!". Parts of her answers, "That was in Spain, herreee...." "Than go in Denmark!". Because she had no real answer for me, she sent me to the Ministry at the Department for Superior Studies, with an interphone code. I go there and call. After talking to two people, I found out that nobody raised this question before, and they don't have an answer. I basically don't exist as a student in Romania, though both countries belong to the European Union. I finally wrote a request, registered at the Registry where I have been sent again from the Ministry, for which I have been informed that I will get an answer in maximum 30 days. I wrote all the possible information there, to make it as clear as possible. I would have liked to help them and give them my e-mail, because in my naive imagination things would work faster, but the woman at the registry told me with a big smile on her face, that they don't have people sending e-mails there.

Oh, well! I already knew the system is bad. That is why I left. I just want to write about system related information I face during my stay at home. I know the bureaucracy is deep and these are only small examples. I think I would like to work for a newspaper, to get paid to try and find out different information, basic day to day information, people paying taxes need to make their life better...it would be fun.

Loving Romania =2=

Fault 2

Get well or die trying

My second fault is about how I don't understand the medical system. This week I had to go with my sister to the doctor's office to get a notice that she is able to perform during her sport's classes. Since I was little and she was born we were registered at the local health care office in our neighbourhood. The doctor loved us and knew everything about us. But last year she unfortunately died. Since than, my sister and I had no family doctor, though our files were still registered there. Now we moved to a bigger medical center, where you can find all sorts of doctors. First I went to a very bad family doctor to get a paper for analyses and than to a very good dermatologist. Nobody asked anything about my medical file. But when I went with my sister to the paediatrician’s office, the nurse asked me for her folder. I told her the story and she said she cannot let me see a doctor unless I have the folder, because the doctor needs to see her medical past. I went home, told my mother, and after two visits at the former medical office and several requests, she managed to get the folders, both my sister’s and mine. As we had my sister's folder, we went back to the medical office. Another nurse, another rule. They didn't actually need the folder, she only needed some information I gave her to make a new folder. I told her to also keep the old folder since we have it now and the answer was "No, it's better to keep it at home. It's safe at home!". So, not only the rules change from one day to another, but I should also understand that not even a paper is safe in that place. This is how, in one week we managed to get the medical notice for sports, that we could have gotten since the first time we went there.

After all, we had to take them from our old doctor, so it was ok. Now, personally, I am a bit confused. I have at home my medical folder with my medical past since I was born to this day and also my medical folder from school with all the vaccines I took. At the sane time I have the analyses from all the private clinics I went to and even the notice from the emergency room, from the car accident. All these are totally different papers, not related in any way or centralised in any system. I am thinking that in case anything might happen to me, they would be useful for the doctors analysing my case, because it would be easier to see where the problem starts. As I know, all the information I have at home in one plastic folder, is not centralised anywhere...a folder that tells my blood type, my allergies, my surgeries...everything. Should I carry it with me every time I leave the house, just in case? Would that make me paranoid or would it just help me in case I have a sudden accident?

I know the medical system has a lot of problems, and not only in Romania. Ana’s accident from this summer is a good example. Still, wouldn’t the feeling of at least knowing that if you have an accident you will not die because something you are allergic to might be administrated, could make people trust the system more and bring at least a superficial feeling of safeness?! Maybe I am doing something wrong...

Loving Romania =1=

Before taking the first flight to Denmark I had a fuzzy feeling about Romania. Living abroad made me see things differently and made me understand where that fuzzy feeling was coming from. I hated the idea of being Romanian and wished more than anything to get lost in the world. I realised that's basically impossible, because no matter what, I will always be Romanian just like my children, grandchildren and so on. Now, in the middle of the financial crises, most of the people I am meeting have the same feelings I had before leaving. Because arguments are the best way to understand the world and sustain your cause...I decided to bring everyday examples of why I hate the Romanian system and not Romania or Romanians.

Fault 1

No ticket, no ride

I am a hypocrite, because the only city I have ever travelled without a ticket during the day is Bucharest. Why don't I usually buy a ticket? I used to always have a monthly pass when I was in school, because it was 50% off. After I finished school, I never bought a ticket again:

1. though I continue being a student in the EU I don't get the 50% off anymore - I don't know if this is about an EU agreement or something, I hope I will find out soon;

2. the bus doesn't have a schedule and comes randomly, sometimes having to wait even for 20 min - it would be impossible for the bus to have a schedule in the madness of the traffic in Bucharest, it would be a lie – this how the system connects it’s faults and relates them one to another;

3. the bus is super crowded and in summer it becomes an impossible environment - no air conditioning system, sometime the windows are stuck, becomes it barely comes, just like in any other European capital a lot of people use the local transportation and of course it gets crowded...

...and other reasons everyone who travels by bus must know about.

So...I never buy the ticket, though it's my responsibility as a person getting on the bus. I am a bad person and I backstab the Romanian economy.

The same thing happened just a few days ago. I was going with my sister at the doctor and I didn't have a ticket and neither did she. (NOTE! All the brackets are bubbles of thought emerging above my head during the conversation I was about to have.) The control comes and I politely tell them that I don't have a ticket, and neither does my sister. He asks me where I am going (as if it was his business!) and tells me to get off at the next station. He tells me that my sister needs to have a ticket from the age of 7, but since she's not 14 and doesn't have ID he can't do anything (so why should she have a ticket from the age of 7, if he can't do anything about it until she's 14, it's polite, but who cares about politeness when you don't have enough money to buy bread!). Than he turns to me, he had my ID in his hand. He clearly tells that I cannot pay less now and more later as the law changed (actually the law changed only in the sense that I cannot pay him now and more later), so I can only pay a lot more later and only and the legal office of my district...and while he was saying this he was turning a green paper in front of my eyes. I told him that from what I saw in the bus it still says that I can pay half now and more later, but he says the law changed and they forgot to take the stickers in the bus off (very smart...bullshit!!!). Than he asks me:

“What do you decide?” (What are the options?)

"What are the options?"

"You decide miss, the decision is all yours!" (Oh no, he's asking for bribe and I am not giving him anything)

"I would like to get my normal fine, thank you"

"Do you have enough money to pay so much for a ticket" (excuse meeee!!!!! why do you care?!)

"No, I don't…but I will manage"

"Please think well, you cannot pay half" His colleague comes and tells us that we discussed for a while and we should make up our minds. (Great!!!). He says:

"So...I will make you a favour. (HA HA HA!!!!) I will write you a paper, with which you can pay half..." (Didn’t he just say that the law changed and it's not possible to do that anymore?)

"In 48 hours like before right?!"

"...no, I will let you till...hmm...Friday...if my computer, because I will check (HA HA HA!), says that you didn't pay I will send it to your district's legal office..."

I get my green paper, I say thank you and hit the road. Out of curiosity I read the paper he was till then waiving in front of my eyes. You can pay 50 lei in the first 48 hours everywhere you can find monthly subscriptions, just like before. It becomes between 100 and 150 lei (I don't who decides the exact amount) and if you don't pay, you get a request from the districts legal office to pay it within 15 days or you will get called for audition.

All he wanted was a small bribe. When I got home and told my mother, she asked why I didn't give him something to solve the problem. Well, this type of problem solving got us where we are, hating our nationality. I didn't pay the fine and I am curious about what will happen next.