Owlspotting

The posts made over the last few days originated in my hometown of Targu Mures (also called Targu-Mures, Tirgu Mures and more recently Tirgu-Mures; the latter is the spelling used by city officials). This Transylvanian town is the place I was born and the city I lived in until I went off to college. My […]

Yes, you’ve heard right. Air conditioning is making steady inroads in Romania, but there are relics of the olden days before we got all Westernized and shit. The sight of an old Dacia brings to mind not only our national obsession with opening the windows to create a breeze, but it also displays our artistry […]

In soccer crazy Europe we say the game is not a matter of life and death–it’s more important than that. The saying doesn’t only apply to the Romanian national team trying to make the World Cup or our pathetic club teams struggling to save face on the European scene–this also applies to 6-on-6 backyard games […]

Over the next few months Owlspotting will run a (hopefully) weekly feature where we’ll answer questions about Romania and Romanians. Sometimes the answers will be provided by me, sometimes by other Romanians, who will be introduced at the appropriate time. Q: Do Romanians drink vodka tonic? A: They try to do, and sometimes they are […]

This was by far my easiest trip ever as I only had to change flights once–in Amsterdam. I’ve only been on NWA/KLM in my trips to and from Romania and they’ve never been a problem. Sometimes they get incredibly attached to their customers as they did last night when they announced they wouldn’t be serving […]

We have officially left our studio in Dupont Circle–one of the nice downtown boroughs of Washington, DC. Elle moved a few blocks away, while I embarked on my quest to re-discover Romania (I am writing this post at 3:30 AM Romanian time, heavily jetlagged and confused). Below is the Google satellite image of our building […]

Today, America celebrates its independence, the day when she decided to stick it to the English and pursue happiness, liberty, justice and everyday low prices. Today Americans across the land fry burgers, drape their bodies in the star spangled banner and remember how awesome it must have been to live in a time before annoyances […]

For three months, beginning July 15 this blog will broadcast its subversive message from the motherland Romania. I am returning like Vlad Tepes did for his second reign, ready to examine my fellow Romanians with the cruel passion displayed by kids examining flies under a microscope or ants under a magnifying glass. This blog is […]

As summer kicks into full gear complete with the stench of overworked armpits and back alley ethnic restaurant trash containers, there is little as soothing as nice sing along indie pop. I have yet to build the soundtrack of summer, but here is a playlist I put together for a trip Elle took to Missouri. […]