This is the first post in our ICC blog. Here you can find the information about how we met, the knowledge about our cultures throughout the second quarter, how we won a FIFA Tournament and both a Romanian and a Bulgarian language lesson.
WEEK 1
After we got our ICC task, we decided to meet and talk about our cultures, but before that we would like to say few things about how we met and the first impressions about each other.
The first time we met was at the intro week where we didn’t have so much time to talk, but in the first quarter we were selected to be in the same project group of the Project Implementation class, in which we organised a great event for children. During that time we became closer and got to know each other better.
During the break between the quarters we participated in a FIFA 19 Team Tournament organised by our fellow students in the campus. After winning two games and losing one, we managed to qualify for the final, which we won at the end.
This experience made us decide to be in the same ICC group so we can discover more about each other’s culture.
We have some similarities about our cultures, considering the fact that our countries are neighbours.
Here is some information about our background and culture:
Andrei is born in Campina, a small town in Romania close to Bucharest. He is 20 and followed a Social Sciences Program in high school. After finishing the high school and taking his diploma, he moved to The Netherlands to pursue studies at ‘Arnhem Business School’, but fortunately, he decided that it was not for him and because he struggled with mathematics and statistics he changed the study to The Hague in order to pursue ‘International Sport Management’, a program which he enjoys very much. His hobbies are watching football and playing occasionally, watching movies, listening to music and playing computer games, also he is interested in fitness and weightlifting. He is a religious person and he enjoys a part of Romanian tradition and culture.
In Romanian tradition it is very common to have many holiday throughout the year and to spend them with your family and friends. Romanians are also very warm and open to other people. Here, religion is very important, the country being separated in two dominant religions Catholic Christians and Orthodox Christians. For both, respecting the customs is essential. Even though, the country struggles right now with a bad Government and financial problems, Romanians are usually optimistic and care a lot about their families, and do everything in their power to protect them and create a better future for them.
This was a description about Andrei and his culture, now we are going to present a description about Radostin and his culture.
Radostin was born and raised in Sofia, which is the capital of Bulgaria. Sofia is the biggest city in Bulgaria with population 1 291 591. There are various of different activities to do in Sofia. There are a lot of clubs and restaurants, cinemas, shopping centers, museums, parks. Radostin started playing football at the age of 8, but after 3 years in football he decided to start with his real passion – athletics, especially sprinting. He trained professionally athletics for 8 years, but unfortunately a horrible waist injury stopped his career in track&field. Bulgarian people tend to be very welcoming and they help each other in complicated situations and that is why Bulgaria has a relatively collectivist society.
As we went through both cultures, we would like to present the first language lessons for Romanian and Bulgarian:
Language lesson 1 – Romanian ‘Basics’
Hi! – ‘ Buna! ‘
Good afternoon! – ‘ Buna ziua! ‘
Good evening! – ‘ Buna seara! ‘
Good morning! – ‘ Buna dimineata! ‘
My name is… – ‘ Numele meu este… ‘
How old are you? – ‘ Cati ani ai? ‘
How are you? – ‘ Ce faci? ‘
Fine – ‘ Bine ‘
Thank you! – ‘ Multumesc! ‘
I’m going to school – ‘ Ma duc la scoala ‘
I’m going to cinema – ‘ Ma duc la cinema ‘
I’m going to my friend – ‘ Ma duc la prietenul meu ‘
Language Lesson 1 – Bulgarian ‘Basics’
Здравей! – Hello!
Довиждане! – Goodbye!
Как си? – How are you?
Какво правиш? – What are you doing?
Лека нощ. – Good night.
Аз съм Радостин. – I am Radostin.
Kак се казваш? – What is your name?
На колко години си? – How old are you?
Добро утро! – Good morning!
Наздраве! – Cheers!
WEEK 2
DRINKING CULTURE IN ROMANIA AND BULGARIA
This week we decided to meet and talk about drinking culture in our countries. We found this a very fun topic to talk about and interesting, even though we were inspired from last week’s lesson. Knowing that we both come from Balkan countries, we consider that drinking is a consistent part of our cultures and therefore we are going to give some information about it.
In Romania, drinking had an important part in history and it was mentioned even from the times of Dacians when they had a tradition of drinking a lot of wine. (On Romanian territory there are a lot of vines.) This tradition was transmitted throughout the history and now we still stick to it in a very committed way. It is known already that Romania is not the wealthiest country, so in consequence, many low-class Romanians just wake-up and the first thing they do is to go to buy drinks before work. The reason behind this is most of the time frustration (on the fact that they don’t get payed much) and also an vice and they can’t have a day in which they don’t drink. In upper classes, drinking is also valued, you don’t often see people meeting and not having alcohol on the table.
Football is the most popular sport in Romania, so, therefore people gather up and drink beer before going to a football match or just drink while watching it home. Beer can also be a reward when you gather with some friends to go and play a mini-football match, the losing team, needing to buy a beer box.
Nowadays, children start drinking since an early age 13-14 years old. On the time of communism they were starting drinking from 18 years old. The trips in high school often represent the time when they start getting drunk. (This was my case too.)
In Romania, there is a tradition to offer your friends and family drinks when it is your birthday or nameday or whenever an important event is happening.
For me, personally, I can’t drink alone, and most of the times when I am in The Netherlands, I don’t drink at all, but when I go to Romania, I often drink with my family and with my friends.
In Bulgaria, people use to drink a lot of alcohol and Bulgaria is in top 6 drinking countries in the world. The most consumed alcohol in Bulgaria is rakia, followed by wine. People start drinking at early age (13-15) and there are a lots of people that drink on daily basis. Moreover, older people produce their own rakia, which actually is illegal but people do it because they cannot afford to buy a bottle from the shop.
Also, when people go out they usually drink a lot and there is like competition between friends who can drink more. Traditionally, Bulgarians drink alcohol with their meals, and when they have guests it is considered impolite to not offer the guest a drink.
Football matches are also connected with drinking, like in Romania. Fans gather before the match to drink beers and chat with other fans, also after the game no matter if their team wins or lose.
Bulgarians love to drink and party, that is why the night clubs are full every day. Sunny Beach is definitely one of the most famous beach resort for drinking in Europe. It attracts many tourists from all over the world with cheap alcohol and a lot of clubs and bars.
Week 3 – Sports
This week we decided to talk about sports in our countries. We found this topic very intriguing, given the fact that both of us were involved in sports since early age and we usually discuss the latest news and results in the world of sports.
The most popular sport in Bulgaria is football, followed by volleyball and boxing. The biggest sport success of Bulgaria is finishing 4th in the FIFA World Cup 1994 in USA and also Hristo Stoichkov winning the Ballon d`Or in the same year. At the moment Bulgarian football is in a crisis, considering the fact that there are not enough facilities and the clubs have very high taxes in order to train in the youth academy and most of the people cannot afford their child to play in a professional club, so football is mostly played in schools.
Another gaining popularity sport in Bulgaria is tennis. Grigor Dimitrov is the most popular and successful tennis player in Bulgaria. He won the ATP Masters in London last year and because of his big success in the last years tennis started to attract many children and youths to practice tennis.
The same as in Bulgaria, Romania’s most popular and loved sport is Football. In the 80s and 90s, Romania had it’s best performances with Steaua Bucharest winning European Champions Cup in 1986 against Barcelona at Sevilla and with the national team reaching the quarter finals of UEFA 1994 World Cup in USA. The best and most beloved player in our history was Gheorghe Hagi, who was a role model for the children that aspired to become footballers in that time. He played for both Barcelona and Real Madrid, but his best time of the career was when he played at Galatasaray and became an idol for the turkish supporters.
The second most popular sport in Romania is Tenis, sport in which we give the no.1 WTA player for the last two years, Simona Halep, who won Roland Garros in 2018. Two other great players throughout the history were Ilie Nastase and Ion Tiriac.
Even though Handball is not so popular among the people in Romania, the women’s national team had great performances winning the 2014 World Cup in Macedonia and being a top team in all competitions. Cristina Neagu is the best player in the world and her team, HCM Bucuresti reaches every year high stages in the Champions League Competition.
Language lesson 2 – Bulgarian Sport Terms
- Stadium – Стадион
- Pitch – Терен
- Ball – топка
- Football – Футбол
- Team – отбор
- Half-Time – полувреме
- Referee – съдия
- Offside- засада
- Corner – корнер
- Post – греда
Language lesson 2 – Romanian Sport Terms
- Stadium – Stadion
- Pitch – Teren
- Ball – Minge
- Football – Fotbal
- Team – Echipa
- Half-Time – Pauza
- Referee – Arbitru
- Offside – Offside
- Corner – Lovitura de la colt
- Post – Bara
Week 4
This week we decided to discuss about traditional Bulgarian and Romanian food.
Bulgaria is famous for its quality vegetables and dairy products and its variety of mild spices. Pork and chicken are the most common forms of meat, though seafood, fish and veal dishes are also popular and lamb has a special traditional place in Bulgarian cooking.
Here are the top traditional Bulgarian dishes:
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Banitsa (баница)
This piece of greasy pastry deliciousness can be purchased in bakeries all over the country. Its standard variety includes a filling of feta-like white cheese (сирене, sirene), though varieties filled with onions, cabbage, spinach, mushrooms or pumpkin can also be found. For your sweet tooth, you can also try banitsa with apples and walnuts. Banitsa in any of its forms is an inseparable part of a traditional Bulgarian breakfast.
- Kebapche (кебапче)
The dish itself is an elongated piece of grilled minced meat, comparable in shape and size, though not in contents, to a hot dog. As with the smaller ćevapčići that you can taste in Serbia, the meat is usually a mix of pork and beef, though it can be solely pork just as well. A beef version exists, but is uncommon and will normally be labeled as such. Typically, spices like black pepper and cumin will be added to the meat, for a mildly spicy taste. -
Musaka (мусака)
This dish is enjoyed in many variations throughout the Balkan region. The Bulgarian version involves potatoes, eggs and minced pork meat and is a known favourite of Bulgarian men, among whom it is a popular joke that they cannot marry a woman who is unable to cook the perfect musaka.
Switching gears to Romania, the food has also a big part of the tradition. Here people are still used to cook traditional food on a daily basis, mostly because the food is very delicious and can get you fed up very easily. Looking at the nutrients, the Romanian food might not be that healthy, but it is definetely worth trying it.
Here are the most popular Romanian dishes:
- Sarmale
Sarmale can be translated at cabbage rolls with meat onion and minced meat. It is a dish which is a consumed most of the time during holidays such as Christmas, Easter or just when is someone’s birthday. It is considered the best Romanian food and the foreigners fell in love with this dish when they visit Romania.
2. Mici (‘smalls’)
Similar to the Bulgarian kebache, the ‘mici’ are rolls made of minced pork meat and they are cooked on a grill. People don’t usually cook them on a daily basis. Mici are cooked when is someone’s birthday or they are just cooked and sold at the festivals. They are consumed with mustard.
3. Mamaliga
Mamaliga is a dish made very easily by mothers or grandmothers. It is very cheap and it can be eaten with anything. It is mead of wheat boiled in water. It is also very popular in Romania even nowadays.
Language lesson 3 – Romanian Food
- food – mancare
- fork – furculita
- knife – cutit
- spoon – lingura
- pot – oala
- ‘Thank you for dinner!’ – ‘Sarut-mana pentru masa’
- ‘Enjoy your dinner!’ – ‘Pofta buna!’
- meal – masa
- guests – musafiri
- desert – gustare
WEEK 5
The main topic of this week is going to be internship opportunities in Romania and Bulgaria. We met right before the Christmas Holiday to discuss this topic and we found out information about some really interesting opportunities that you can have in our countries even though it is less likely for a foreigner to search for an internship here.
Over the last years, in Romania there were not many internship programs offered by the Government. Starting with 2018, the Government created an internship program for students offering them the opportunity to practice at the level of central institutions from the public administration: Government, Ministries, Authorities and Institutions. For this program, 200 available places were offered in 56 host-institutions.
During this internship, the participants would receive a 1000 lei grant (215 euros) per month and at the end of the program they would receive a certificate from the Romanian Government and a letter of recommendation from the tutors.
Bulgarian ministry of youth and sports offers an unpaid student internships in directorate “Sport for high achievements”
Language lesson 4 – Internships, Jobs and Work
English/ Romanian / Bulgarian
- job – loc de munca / работа
- employee – angajat / работник
- employer – angajator / работодател
- part time job – loc de munca cu jumatate de norma / почасова работа
- boss – sef / шеф
- branch – filiera / фирма
- work – munca / работа
- schedule – program / програма
- break – pauza / пауза
- secretara – secretary / секретарка
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