Cycling, hiking or riding buses with groups throughout Romania during the last 10 years, I met various problems along the way, some of which were typical to a cycling tour for instance, others which were not. However the sometimes bad roads or the lack of mod-cons in some remote hotels are not the biggest issue; people understand that they are due to the fact that one finds himself / herself off the beaten track and that Romania is undergoing a lot of changes. The biggest problem is instead the “no”. As one of the cyclists put it, “the first answer is always no”. The guesthouse staff in Drobeta that would not, for the sun, moon or stars above, serve breakfast before 8 AM. A hotel manager in Cluj, which first agreed that we pay for service by bank transfer (according to the contract) and then changed his mind the very day of our arrival, asking for cash at check-in. Adding some pastry coffee break two days later at a 5* property in Bucharest, which seemed to be mission impossible because... they would not have enough time for the baking. A 4* hotel manager in Sucevița which could not add a game dish to dinner with two weeks’ notice because... “they do not have it at Metro”. Last, but not least, a guard at a museum that did not allow me to shoot pictures even from the other side of the street (i.e. public space), relying on some utopian and non-existent regulation of the Ministry of Culture; and the Ministry of Culture’s answer, denying everything (i.e. the regulation, the guard’s action, the museum’s rules, its lack of action a.o.).

The “no for an answer” mentality is often explained by the fact that Romania was under a strict communist regime, where one could hardly (if ever) step off the red pattern. With or without Ion Iliescu, that regime ended in 1989 and it has been a while since then. I would rather say that people prefer to blame the Communist regime for their own impotence. And then, it is always easier to say “no” and go on with one’s dolce far’ niente. Furthermore, just like in the situation of the Fițe, Romanians have a huge egocentrism. After years of next to no private property (which they always blame), there is an excess of lust for property. A guard at an office building will not allow one to chain his / her bike in front of the building because this would spoil the image of His Building. Beyond airports, highways and high speed trains, the “no for an answer” mentality is one of the greatest problems (if not the greatest problem) in Bucharest and Romania at this moment.

“Don’t know. Wasn’t me.”

During Communist Romania, the individual did not exist as an entity. He or she was part of the crowd working on the glorious prospects of Communism, on the future development of the Golden Age under Ceaușescu’s leadership. With the exception of the very top figures of the Communist Party and government (as well as with the exception of sport or music figures), names did not exist. They were instead replaced by common, illustrative figures: the Working Man, the War Hero, the Always Awake Doctor etc. As a continuation of this situation, even now I meet people that deny declining their identity. It often happens that I call our internet provider to ask what the problem is with our connection, I am told they will look into it. I tell them my name and ask for the name of the person I am talking to. The answer is prompt: “this is irrelevant, we shall call you back”. They never call back and there is nobody to blame. Why? “Don’t know. Wasn’t me.”

The Complaining Society

One gets to Bucharest Airport and realizes that his / her driver is not there, even though the flight was on time and the driver had all data he needed. The customer calls the office and is told that the driver will be there shortly. Half an hour later the driver shows up running, sweating, cursing. During the 40 minute ride to the hotel, the customer is given 100 reasons, 100 complaints, all of them meant to throw the fault on whoever else’s shoulders but the guilty one’s, and, of course, all of them irrelevant: weather, a fault of the engine, an accident down the road to the airport, a flood at home, the people in the office that messed up the flight data, or the devil himself. Ah, and yes, I have forgotten the most important  one: traffic. The driver will blame it all on traffic the very moment he will speed up and push it on the red light, blocking the whole crossing for 10 minutes. This is the Complaining Society, from Belgrade and Skopje, to Istanbul, Bucharest, Sofia and Chișinău. The people in Transylvania will blame it on the government in Bucharest (even for the issues that only relate to their individual, internal regulations and capabilities), those in Northern Romania will blame it on the weather and make fun of over-demanding (in their understanding) tourists, those in Bucharest will blame the one to the left and right. Eventually, if it all fails, Romanians will tell a joke, laugh at it themselves and go on complaining forever. Complaining that has turned into a lifestyle in this part of the world.