Life in Romania

There is much to be said in the positive for the Romanian health system and I am sure I will write some more on this at a later date. But there is also a lot to be said on the negative side. Take for example a neighbor of mine here in the village. For months now she has had a kidney problem, they told her it was a kidney stone. And they put her on some treatment. However and here is the problem, unless you personally give the doctor money (in his hand) they won't treat you or if they do it will be very bad treatment. After several months of back and forth to the hospital and lots of money (in Romanian terms) give to the doctor her kidney is now infected and they tell her it needs to be removed. Now I am not saying that this is the doctors fault, but the next bit is. When ever the doctors see her he tells her that she needs an operation, maybe even the kidney needs to be removed, but then he does nothing. The next time the same story. Of course he is waiting for more money. She did give him some and then the operation was arranged but then one of the assisting doctors (the anesthetist) said his portion wasn't enough, so it has been delayed again.

She is currently lying in bed, in lots of pain, trying to arrange extra money for her operation. Is Romania ready for the EU? I don't think so.

G

This isn't probably something that has made it to your local news station or newspaper. Romania gives out milk powder for babies. In general this is a good thing as the mothers are encouraged to breast feed at the hospitals from day 1 and the milk powder can be a great help if the breast milk stops or the baby needs supplemental milk outside of what the mother can give.

Both of my children were born here in Romania and we have used the milk powder especially for our six month old who is a chubby fellow and needs lots of feeding. Anyway, I digress. The point is that this week I went to collect the milk powder and they told me that there won't be any for two months. The effect of this is that now lots of mothers who children need milk powder can't get it. The average Romanian earns abut $100 per month (not per week but per month). A box of the cheapest milk powder costs around $3. Our boy needs about 7 boxes per month, so that is $21. That is 21% of the monthly income.

Imagine being told by your local government that for the next two months you would have to spend an extra 21% of you income on something that they were giving you for free. Now think again when you only have $100 to start with.

One of the biggest differences between the UK and Romania is the Romanian winter. In the UK I guess we are used to winter temperatures of -1 or -2 C (well in the south where I come from) but in mountainous regions of Romania day time temperatures can be -10 C and night time as low as -25 or even -30 C.

In the south of Romania nearer the black sea the temperatures can be much milder and there is less snow (if any). However large parts of Romania are mountainous (and good for skiing) and these areas can have hard winters.

Also the length of the winters can be a bit of a shock. I remember a few years ago the snow didn't melt until mid April! We all rejoice at a bit of snow, we build snow men, go sledging, but when it goes on and on and on it can be quite difficult.

Also, on a more serious point, it costs money to heat the house. When winter goes on and it is cold then the fuel bills are much higher. For those with less money or who use wood for heating the winters can be quite a challenge!

G

It is hard to know how widespread theft is in Romania. There are of course official figures and there are subjective view points. The theme of theft is closer to be right now as over the New Years my wallet was stolen while I was out in Brasov city. It has everything in it including my passport. The money isn't the issue, neither do I hold any grudge against the thieves however the biggest pain is getting all the documents back. A new passport will cost about 50 UK pounds and then there is all the bureaucracy to try and get my Romania residency papers again. (Bureaucracy will be the subject of its own post).

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