Swiss man, 33

Age: 33
Sex: m
Nationality: Swiss
Education: University
Occupation: Scientific Assistant

What did you think about Romania and Romanians before your first contacts with this country or its inhabitants?
People said that Romania had become a very poor country under the regency of Ceausescu. I thought that it’s a nice country because of the nature (Danube and Black Sea) and language (I visited a language course before travelling to Romania). The image of the country was generally negatif, but that’s what made me curious.

Did this image change after getting to know a Romanian or after visiting the country? How?
The image didn’t change: The nature was wonderful, the cities were not that nice, and people were indeen quite poor (compared to Switzerland). Maybe there was a change of the image of the Romanian character: I thought that they are more “eastern” (slavic, like russian), whilst in reality I found people with “southern” temperament (like italians; emotional).

Describe in a few words your best encounter with a Romanian.
In 1994 I travelled first time to Romania, alone. I visited a pen pal at Piatra Neamt. I’ll never forget the hospitality of the family from my pen pal.

Describe in a few words your worst encounter with a Romanian.
There were some bad encounters with Romanian officials. E.g. in 1997, when I wanted to transport my bike by train from Cluj to Budapest: At the frontier, the train official wanted to throw my bicycle out of the train…

Which words come to your mind when you think about Romanians in general?
Friendly, big hospitality
A lot of culture and traditions
Great Musicians; nice folk music
Emotional
Progressiv (economically)
Bad organisers
Bad environmental protectors

Which words come to your mind when you think about Romanian women?
Open, friendly, nice, trustworthily
A bit more traditional / less emancipated than western women
Lots of Gipsy women

Which words come to your mind when you think about Romanian men?
Open, friendly, but not always trustworthily
More emotional, but also more aggressiv and more “Machos” than Swiss men
Lots of “loud” men (loud speaking, loud singing a.s.o.)

What is the age you associate Romania with?
Young age (at cities), old age (on the country)

What is the drink you associate Romania with?
Tuica, but also Coca Cola

What are the brands you associate Romania with?
No idea (perhaps CFR, Caile Ferate Romine?)

Name 3 prominent Romanians
Ceausescu
Andrii Popa
Nadia Comaneci

What time of the day you associate Romania with?
Evening (singing at the bonfire at Retezat…)

Name the country you associate Romania with?
Italy (similar language and mentality) and Bulgaria (neighbourhood on Balcan)

What is the main difference between Romania and your country?
In Switzerland there is more internationality, more diversity of different people; people don’t show emotions and are silent. In Romania there is more unity, and people show more emotions