One difference is that the previous interview we covered was with a Canadian female teacher, presumably still living in Canada, whereas this man has returned to Romania for good. Yet another is that while I could not agree with the previous, I can’t think of a disagreement off-hand after having watched the interview quickly.
That being said, let’s summarize the points made, starting with part 1.
- former tennis champ in Ro
- American dream – marketing strategy
- appreciates his experience and diploma in USA
- USA “system problems”: health insurance, aggressive policing, rigid laws and people, daily shootings in NYC
- cold interpersonal relationships
- Romania is good (easier to live in than USA) if you have good health insurance and/or if you have a good social network
- Hawaii was like Eforie (ro) – small and dirty beach but in more pristine areas nature was exceptional
- New Orleans – fast food restaurant had bullet-proof glass protection for staff
- ghettos next door to posh areas
- if you win lottery in Romania you have access to corruption as rich people, but in USA only the rich have access to high-level corruption
- in business, all that matters is who you know
- detailed examples of high cost of healthcare starting at 4:44
- first impressed by infrastructure / highways
- cultural shock – no American friend in the first 4 years; people are polite but distant
- pragmatism/no special treatment for #1
- marketing is king
- Las Vegas – the strip, nothing else; Detroit – phantom city, abandoned skyscrapers
- fav: Boston (a less busy Bucharest), San Diego (best climate in the world)
- advantages: no line-ups, more online, less red tape
- too many homeless people, pure capitalism, no social safety net
- life is expensive: budget example
- party early, got to bed early
- fraternity hazing (“fratie”) intergenerational humiliation positive feedback loop
The first thought that crossed my mind is that this guy’s name and physiognomy remind me of a “primary” school mate from 197, Dan. I met Dan when he randomly called me a “fool”, I returned the “favor”, he punched me in the stomach, and I became a bit confused between the urge to punch him back and/or to laugh at how absurd the situation got. Could they be related? I’ll investigate.
In the same class as Dan there were a few girls who kept dropping by my class. That was unusual – I don’t think that in my entire primary school and even high-school in Romania I ever “visited” foreign classrooms (with the exception of “labs). And it wasn’t just Lux dropping by, at one point Leda would come during the break straight to my desk and induce me to eat Pelicanol with her (some kind of sweet paper glue).
What I like most about his recollections is his views of corruption, which are quite similar to what I’ve been saying in “corruption vs cur-rupt-ie”: high-level corruption is far more widespread (and less “accessible”) in developed countries (likewise, low-level corruption is mostly absent/unnecessary).
His somewhat simplistic conclusion is that you can live very well in Romania if you have a social circle and health insurance, but isn’t that true for USA as well? Quite possibly, that’s a tacit admission and realization that in Romania he’s an “8-9” in terms of social success, whereas in the bigger, more competitive USA he’s closer to the bottom. If more Romanian immigrants had the balls to admit it, far more would return to Romania.
Sources / More info: hn-cirstea