Daniel Tomov: Romania must be of interest at all times, not just when accidents occur in the country

Vladimir Mitev

Summary of the conversation with Daniel Tomov

The discussion between Vladimir Mitev and Assistant Professor Dr Daniel Tomov (lecturer in Romanian at the “St Kliment Ohridski” University in Sofia) covers personal impressions, cultural ties and media coverage relating to Bulgaria and Romania.

• Personal experience and travels: Dr Tomov undertook his first trip to Bucharest in 2011 as part of the ‘Erasmus’ programme. In recent years, he has been travelling regularly on his own (by train and bus) to various regions of Romania (Sighișoara, Brașov, Iași) and talks about the hospitality of the people and his discoveries.
• Culture and society: Both interviewees note that Romanians are more passionate about the arts (theatre, literature, cinema) and are noticeably more religious than Bulgarians. Specific linguistic and regional characteristics can be observed (for example, the use of the simple past in Oltenia).
• Academic and cultural relations: Relations between universities are very strong — through student exchanges, summer schools and visiting lecturers. At the same time, there is a lack of events in Sofia promoting Romanian culture, leaving a gap in the market for such initiatives.
• Media coverage: The main conclusion is that the Bulgarian media primarily portray Romania in the context of unrest, political crises or disasters. Those interviewed agree that Romania should be presented in the media through the lens of everyday, peaceful life, and not merely through isolated events.

Interview

Introduction

Senior Assistant Professor Dr Daniel Tomov is a lecturer in practical Romanian at St Kliment Ohridski University in Sofia. Every summer, he travels to Romania and interacts extensively with Romanians. The Friendship Bridge spoke to him about his impressions and experiences with people in the neighbouring country to the north.

Trips to Romania

Daniel, I’ve invited you to this discussion because I know you’ve been travelling to Romania every summer for years, and it strikes me that travelling there is a very rewarding activity and hobby. When did this begin? What were your first trips to Romania like? I suppose they were more educational or tourist-oriented?

Yes, yes, yes. The first was an educational trip as part of the ‘Erasmus’ programme in 2011–2012, to Bucharest. That’s when I applied for ‘Erasmus’ with the aim of studying for six months at the University of Bucharest. That was my first trip to Romania and, therefore, my first real-life encounter with Romanians and Romania, as until then my knowledge had come solely from university.

Back then, I didn’t travel around the country much. I went to Brașov. I remember travelling there by train. I also visited Sinaia and Ploiești, where I had Bulgarian friends who were in the foundation year. I got to know Bucharest better back then than the rest of the country. I didn’t travel around the country at that time, but yes – my first trip was to Bucharest.

What were the first things that surprised or impressed you when you arrived in Bucharest?

First of all, in terms of how it felt – as I was the only student from Bulgaria, when I set off on the ‘Erasmus’ programme on 26 September, it started pouring with rain and, generally speaking, I wasn’t particularly impressed by my first encounter with the city. Then, gradually, I began to get to know it bit by bit. I made quite a few friends from the ‘Erasmus’ group, and, of course, some Bulgarians studying in Romania, so I started to feel quite at home. I started to feel just as I had in Sofia. I had quite a large circle of friends, and we went out often.

The city didn’t make any particular impression on me – it seemed quite similar to Sofia, although I was already beginning to notice some differences. It was the architecture that first impressed me. Also, the city centre – Bucharest’s Old Town – is a place I’ve always liked very much. When I later returned to the Romanian capital (and I go there quite often), I always take a stroll through the centre: through the Old Town, along Calea Victoriei, around the Athenaeum

(the Romanian Athenaeum) and the Arch of Triumph – generally speaking, I quite like these better-known tourist attractions and always visit them, even though I’ve been there many times before.

I can tell you two things that surprised or impressed me when I first came into contact with Romanians. One of them is that people there talk a great deal about the theatre. I simply kept coming across various groups where people were discussing the theatre, including at parties or get-togethers.

And the other thing that impressed me – there’s a culture of guitar-playing and this genre of songs that they call ‘folk’, but it’s not quite folklore; it’s more like what we’d call a ‘poet with a guitar’ back home. And that surprised me in a way. Not that it doesn’t exist here, but it seems to me that it has remained popular amongst the older elites from the 1980s. They organised political song festivals for a while during the transition period. And in Romania, it seems to me that this genre – at least from what I’ve gathered – is somewhat more popular amongst young people (who were young back then, and are now in their forties, but that was 10–15 years ago). These two things made an impression on me: the theatre and the songs with guitar. Do you have similar impressions? And, in general, what cultural characteristics have you noticed?

Yes, I agree that Romanians are more passionate about art than Bulgarians. I’m referring to young Romanians too, not so much to middle-aged people over 50.

I have quite a few friends and university colleagues who go to the theatre probably three or four times a week. This struck me as well at first. I’ve been to a few plays with them, and I myself, as a person, am passionate about the arts.

As for music – since I’m not personally that keen on music, I don’t know if I’ve ever, for example, been sitting in a bar in Bucharest (in the Old Town, generally speaking) and seen people playing the guitar or performing more alternative music. So, yes – in my opinion, Romanians are more passionate about art, and not just theatre, but also cinema and books.

I’ve joined lots of groups where people discuss what they’re reading and which books are being read in Romanian, and I can see there are quite a few active profiles – people who write, share, take an interest and express their views on a particular book they’ve read…

When you travel, what were the first places you wanted to visit – the ones that seemed appealing, perhaps even mysterious? Do you have a story about one of those first visits to Romania?

For the past four years, I’ve made a habit of travelling for two weeks each summer to places in Romania I’ve never been to before. Four years ago, I travelled like this for the first time – I went to Sighișoara, which remains one of my favourite towns in Romania that I’ve visited.

Initially, I decided to travel on my own because I had no one to go with – there was no one else who wanted to travel in this way, given that I travel by bus or train (I don’t have a driving licence) and, as a result, very few people are willing to travel such a long way to reach that destination. So Sighișoara was the first place I travelled to on my own.

I can’t quite remember exactly how I chose it – it had always piqued my curiosity, as I’d read a lot about the town and wanted to visit it. I travelled using several different modes of transport and arrived in Sighișoara. I came into contact with many Romanians, because, on this first trip on my own, I constantly had to ask where to get off and where to change transport, as I didn’t take a direct bus from Bucharest to Sighișoara. I was very pleased with those two weeks.

When I arrive in a town, as I’m travelling on my own and don’t rely on others, I always go on day trips to nearby places. That’s when I visited Târgu Mureș and Alba Iulia. Overall, I quite enjoyed it. I didn’t have any negative experiences; I simply got to know the people I met on the bus or train and had a chat with them. The only thing I remember is that it was much warmer on the train than outside. But that’s to be expected, given that it was the height of summer.

Food in Romanian restaurants

What can be said about the food in Romania? I can share my brief impressions with you. Basically, there are restaurants serving standard Romanian cuisine, which is quite similar to Bulgarian cuisine – perhaps just without tarator, but otherwise everything is very similar. But at the same time, in Bucharest, over the last 10 years, fast-food culture has become increasingly widespread. Many restaurants offer burgers and pasta – dishes that are easy to prepare, aren’t particularly complicated and, to be honest, aren’t particularly tasty either, but are simply filling.

In other words, junk food / street food.

Yes, and I find this very widespread in Bucharest. That’s how I explain to myself why Romanians constantly go to Ruse, to restaurants serving home-cooked food.

Another distinctive feature is that, in Bucharest and the major cities, there are many ethnic restaurants (for example, Nepalese, Turkish, Lebanese – in the spirit of the respective country) or fast-food outlets. Bucharest is a city of affluent people, and I don’t know why there isn’t a greater variety of food that is delicious, rich and authentic.

There are plenty of restaurants in Bucharest that I like and have visited. They don’t necessarily serve traditional Romanian cuisine, but rather international fare. Of course, there are also plenty of fast-food outlets, especially in shopping centres and malls. I’ve tried both types. Nowadays, when I travel, I no longer specifically seek out traditional Romanian food, as I’ve already tasted most of the dishes. Sometimes I even buy international food or pick something up from the supermarket and eat it wherever I’m staying.

The days when I would go out of my way to seek out traditional cuisine are long gone. But if I go to a city like Brașov, where I know there are restaurants specialising in traditional Romanian cuisine, I try to visit them. For example, on my last visit, in April, I went to ‘Ursul Carpatin’. I knew they served traditional dishes there, particularly from Transylvania, and I tried quite a few of them – things I hadn’t tasted in Bucharest. When I was in Iași, I didn’t eat traditional Romanian food – there I ate international food at the shopping centre or bought various things from supermarkets. Otherwise, yes – I’ve also noticed that Romanians eat quite a lot of unhealthy food and buy quite a lot of junk food.

The regions and major cities of Romania

There’s something else I’d like to ask you. As you’ve been, I suppose, to all of Romania’s historical regions, you’re surely aware that there are certain stereotypes. For example, that people from Transylvania (the Ardeleni) are lazy, or that those from Oltenia are frivolous.

Yes, and that people from Oltenia use the simple past (a regional variant of the past perfect tense). I haven’t been to Oltenia – it’s the only historical region I haven’t set foot in yet, but I will, as I’m planning a trip there. However, on my last trip I met people from Craiova. As a linguist, I noticed that they do indeed use the simple perfect very frequently. This didn’t cause me any difficulty – we always tell our students that this is a tense used specifically in Oltenia. So, that’s what struck me about them.

As for the people of Transylvania, I didn’t notice any specific trait that particularly struck me. I really like this region – Transylvania is my favourite historical region in Romania for travelling. As for Iași – since it’s the place I visited most recently – again from a linguist’s perspective, I’ve noticed a different way of using the Romanian language. They use words that are more regionally specific than those we’re used to hearing in Bucharest. Otherwise, I don’t notice any specific traits in the people – to me, they’re all the same and look alike.

B Well, if you’ve been to Craiova, have you come across the so-called ‘bașcălie’ – that distinctive culture of making fun of everything, including oneself?B

I haven’t actually been to the city of Craiova itself, but I met some people from there on the bus from Iași to Bucharest. I even had to help them with some bookings, because our bus was five hours late and they’d missed their connection to Craiova. When we started talking and getting to know each other, I realised that they do indeed use the simple past extremely frequently instead of the compound past.

Another thing that many people notice in Romania is that religiosity seems much more visible. I remember one of my first trips to Timișoara (Timișoara), sometime around 2009. Early in the morning, at 5.00 or 5.30, I was travelling by taxi to the station to catch the morning train to Bucharest. The taxi driver drove past a church and, at 5.00 am, made the sign of the cross. Many people noticed this. Let’s say you’ve been in the Iași area or, more generally, in Moldova, where the religious element seems to be very strongly developed. How do you, as a Bulgarian, perceive these signs of piety, given that religion has become more influential in Bulgaria recently, but it seems it is still not as important as it is in Romania?

I think Romanians are more religious than Bulgarians.

It strikes me that, on the tram, when they pass a church or a place of worship, they cross themselves, just as they do when walking down the street. When I was in Iași, there was a church festival. In the city centre, where one of the large churches is located and next to which there is a monastery, the courtyard was full of Romanians and tourists. It was impossible to get into the church, so the liturgy could be heard outside through loudspeakers.

In the Iași area and, more generally, in the historic region of Moldova, there are many monasteries and churches, so religious sentiment is even more strongly felt there. But, generally speaking, Romanians are more religious. As far as Iași is concerned, I put this down to its history dating back to the time of Stephen the Great, but I don’t have a specific explanation for Romania as a whole.

But have you been to Cluj?

Cluj-Napoca was one of the cities on my list. This summer, I chose the cities by drawing lots – I wrote three cities on separate pieces of paper: Iași, Cluj and Timișoara. I had to pick a slip of paper, and Iași came up three times, which is why I organised the trip there. Cluj is one of the cities I’d like to visit, but I haven’t been there yet.

I can help you if you need any information about Cluj-Napoca. Personally, I’m impressed by the fact that the city centre is mainly laid out as a pedestrian zone. Although there are cars on the roads, the space is designed to provide plenty of room for walking and lots of places to eat and drink. The city is very tourist-friendly. Of course, it’s quite an expensive city.

I think it’s one of the most expensive cities in Romania to live in, if not the most expensive.

Have you been to Timișoara?

I haven’t been to Timișoara. In Iași, too, the centre is a pedestrian zone – not the whole centre, but a fairly large part of it, which you can walk through in 20–25 minutes. You can stroll along this pedestrian street, which leads straight to the Palace of Culture. It’s the same in Brașov. It’s a characteristic of Romanian cities. I’ve also been to Pitești – and there too they have a pedestrianised area where everyone goes for a stroll. To be more precise, in Pitești people were strolling around and eating ice cream. In Iași, people simply stroll around, especially after 7.00 pm, when it’s not so hot anymore. So, in many towns, the centre is laid out as a pedestrian zone.

I’ve been to Pitești too, and I was impressed by this long central area set aside for pedestrians. I’ve also been to Târgoviște.

Yes, I’ve been to Târgoviște too.

Deep Romania and Romanian religiosity

I found it interesting that the religious element is very clearly visible there – I think there were even Orthodox murals on the buildings. There’s an expression: ‘Deep Romania’ – the Romania outside the major cities, where people are more conservative, more traditional and more religious. For me, Târgoviște is a town where you can sense both the urban atmosphere and that deeper side of Romania. Giurgiu is, to some extent, also a town of this sort.

I’ve been to Târgoviște, but not to Giurgiu. As for Târgoviște, I agree that the religious aspect is quite pronounced. In Curtea de Argeș (Curtea de Argeș), for example, it was the same. Although it isn’t one of the largest towns, it is extremely important from a historical point of view. Thanks to the monastery there, the religious element is also very pronounced.

Right, you mentioned Curtea de Argeș. You know that in those two towns (Iași and Curtea de Argeș) there are saints buried whom the Bulgarian Orthodox Church claims are Bulgarian – Saint Filofteia and Saint Petka/Paraskeva (Saint Parascheva). I’m not sure to what extent this is also the Romanian view of them – that they are Bulgarian – perhaps some acknowledge it, but I don’t know if everyone does. I wanted to ask you in this context: you are Bulgarian, and of course you are fluent in Romanian, which opens many doors for you, but how do you perceive the connection between Bulgarians and Romanians? Historically speaking, there are many links, including the saints mentioned, but isn’t it the case, nevertheless, that there is a certain distance between the two peoples? Isn’t the connection between Bulgarians and Romanians less active than, for example, that between Bulgarians and Serbs or between Bulgarians and Greeks?

I haven’t felt any distance at all. Perhaps this is because, in the circles in which I move – my circle of friends in Romania – I have integrated and adapted well. In principle, I don’t travel with other Bulgarians or with foreigners to see how they interact with Romanians, but the last time I travelled with some students to Brașov, they were extremely pleased with the Romanians’ attitude towards them. I don’t think there is any distance in our communication.

Personally, I haven’t got involved in specific disputes about which saint is Bulgarian and which is Romanian, or which territory belonged to which country in the past. I avoid such disputes.

I suppose that, since you speak Romanian, you have an affinity for Romanian culture. To what extent are there enough Romanian events in Sofia – concerts, films or other events? Do you feel that what’s happening in Sofia in terms of cultural events linked to Romania is sufficient?

No, I don’t think it’s enough. In fact, I think there’s quite little. From time to time, a few plays written by Romanian playwrights are staged at the National Theatre or in other theatres in Sofia. The last one I went to, in May, was ‘What Shall We Do with the Cello?’ by Matei Vișniec, performed on the chamber stage of the ‘Ivan Vazov’ National Theatre in Sofia. I enjoyed it very much; there was a great deal of interest in the production from the Bulgarian audience, and the theatre was full. However, in general, very few plays by Romanian playwrights are staged.

As for films – there are only a few titles shown during the ‘Sofia Film Fest’. These tend to be alternative films by contemporary Romanian directors or graduation projects by young filmmakers. During the Book Fair, there are presentations of books translated from Romanian into Bulgarian, but these are very few and far between – just one event per day. The most recent major event to have sparked enormous interest among the Bulgarian public was the visit to the House of Translation by Cătălina Puiu from the University of Bucharest. She led a translation workshop and presented the books she has translated (she is Georgi Gospodinov’s translator). There aren’t very many events promoting Romanian culture, literature and art.

Information about Romania and Romanian cultural events in Sofia

So, how do you keep up to date with current affairs in Romania? I suppose anyone who deals with Romania professionally tries to keep abreast of new books, films, music and cultural products. How do you manage to keep track of these things, so that you don’t end up with an image of Romania from a few years ago?

Thanks to social media. They’re a huge help for us – those of us who are interested in the language but don’t live in the country. I watch videos, follow pages on Facebook and Instagram, and check lists of books published in various bookshops in Bucharest or outside the city.

I mainly keep up to date via Facebook, Instagram and the newsletters of certain bookshops. Generally speaking, not much information reaches Bulgaria or Sofia – not just about culture, but also about the economy, politics or events in Romania. On my TV in Sofia, I can only pick up one Romanian channel – TVR Internațional. I watch it occasionally for the news programmes, which cover important events. These are the channels.

So is there a niche for people who want to organise Romanian events in Sofia and elsewhere?

Yes, there is. They need to be well-planned events that capture the public’s interest – such as the event dedicated to translation at the House of Translation. There’s interest not just in Romanian culture, but rather in cultures that are less familiar to the people of Sofia and to Bulgarians in general. As American or British culture is omnipresent, there’s certainly a niche for less mainstream art.

You mentioned to me that you’re interested in Romanian podcasts. What are your favourite podcasts, and what topics interest you when you watch videos and follow content on social media in Romanian?

I mainly listen to podcasts about well-known figures from the entertainment world – singers, actors or reality TV contestants – because I follow them on social media. One of my favourite podcasts is Jorge’s (George Papagheorghe) – he’s a singer and conducts interviews with Romanian singers. I also follow Horia Brenciu’s podcast. In Romania, just as in Bulgaria, this has become a very popular activity.

Is there any intellectual – for example, a university lecturer, a writer or a journalist – whom you follow with interest because they provide you with intellectual or professional stimulation?

Yes, as a university lecturer and author – Ioana Pârvulescu. She is my favourite contemporary Romanian writer and I’m very interested in what she publishes. I read quite a few articles in the magazine *Dilema Veche*. There’s also a linguist – Rodica Zafiu – who writes about the history of words, particularly the lesser-known ones and their etymology. But Ioana Pârvulescu is my favourite writer and the figure I look up to in academia.

Do you know Ioana Pârvulescu? Have you ever been in touch with her?

No, unfortunately not. When I was in Bucharest, I didn’t have the chance – she wasn’t teaching a course I could attend. I don’t know if she’s ever been to Bulgaria; she might have visited, but I may well have missed such an event.

Haven’t you thought that, as a colleague of hers in Sofia, you’d be perfectly entitled to write to her, get to know her or even ask her to meet up?

I haven’t thought of that, because I’m not in the habit of writing to people on Facebook or asking them to meet up. It’s just not in my nature. If we had the chance to meet at a symposium or a seminar, I’d be very happy, but for me to take the initiative on social media – no.

Communicating with Romanians

I see. This is where I’d like to share some of my observations.

Many Romanians are extremely open to communicating online with people they don’t know beforehand (provided, of course, that the message is polite and written in Romanian). From what I’ve observed, if I write to someone, introduce myself and say what interests me about their work, the reaction is almost always very positive. I’m actually often told: ‘When you come to Bucharest or Cluj, give me a shout!’ .

On the other hand, sometimes it’s the Romanians themselves who take the initiative. I recently had such an experience with someone older than me, a figure of authority who runs an association. I simply sent him a friend request on Facebook. He saw from my profile that I speak Romanian, accepted the invitation and wrote me a message himself, taking the initiative to start a conversation.

My conclusion is that Romanians are very sociable compared to other nations. In Romania, there’s a well-developed culture of informal conversation. I view this positively. You’ve also noticed that, in Bulgaria, we perhaps aren’t quite so forward and tend to keep our distance a bit more. Romanians respect personal boundaries too, but they’re very open once you get to know them. Once, when I met a colleague – a Romanian woman of Hungarian origin, a university lecturer from Cluj – we spoke for four and a half hours without a break. The discussion took place in a completely relaxed atmosphere, without any competition for dominance – simply a conversation between people who are curious about the world and have things to share. How do you find them in terms of friendliness, compared to Bulgarians?

I agree that Romanians are friendly and enjoy a good chat. When I meet colleagues face to face, the conversation flows naturally – there really is that sort of culture and openness to interaction. It’s just that, personally, I don’t like messaging strangers on social media. Otherwise, I don’t think they’re any friendlier than Bulgarians – in my opinion, Bulgarians are friendly enough too. People from both nations can sit and chat for hours on end, provided we have topics in common.

And how do you assess relations at an academic level? Are there enough links between universities, and how do these manifest themselves?

I think they’re at a good level. Of course, one can never say that something is 100 per cent perfect or entirely sufficient – there’s always room for improvement. This is evident in the fact that our students studying Romanian have the opportunity to take courses under agreements with the University of Bucharest, the universities of Cluj, Târgu Mureș, Timișoara and others. Summer schools also represent a great advantage for interaction between students and lecturers. Lecturers from the Institute of the Romanian Language come to us and lead practical sessions with Bulgarian students. This is very useful, as it enables them to communicate in Romanian on a daily basis and overcome the language barrier. In turn, Bulgarian lecturers teach at universities in Romania. We also have guest lecturers from Bucharest who give public lectures on literature, language and culture. So, at an academic level, we have quite strong links. Lecturers from both countries translate Bulgarian and Romanian literature for one another.

How would you assess relations with the media? Is there enough coverage of Romania in the Bulgarian media, and are there important topics that are being overlooked?

My firm view is that the media do not know enough about Romania, nor do they talk about it enough. Information only appears if something momentous happens that shakes the whole country – that’s when the comments start about how far ahead Romania is of Bulgaria, or vice versa, from an economic and financial point of view.

For example, when the adoption of the euro was being discussed, my Romanian friends would write: ‘Well done, you’re adopting the euro – when will we?’, whilst Bulgarians wondered why Romania was lagging behind in this regard. But nothing is reported about the less significant current events in Romania. As for the political crisis in Romania, for example – the vote of no confidence or the formation of the government – almost nothing is mentioned in the Bulgarian media. I believe the situation is similar in the Romanian media when it comes to Bulgaria.

Yes, I am one of those people the Romanian media turn to for comments on Bulgaria, and the Bulgarian media for comments on Romania. Traditionally, there has been a lack of significant interest in both directions, perhaps right up until 2022. The war in Ukraine has prompted the two countries to take a slightly keener interest in one another. When Bulgaria made progress in the process of joining the eurozone, many Romanian television stations came to film reports in Ruse and Sofia. Similarly, the Bulgarian media are now asking a few more questions. But, in my view, the topics should be much richer and more in-depth, rather than simply seeking out news stories linked to crises – for example, the shutdown of a reactor at the ‘Cernavodă’ nuclear power station due to the low water level of the Danube, or fears surrounding politicians such as Călin Georgescu and George Simion. Peaceful, everyday Romania must be just as interesting.

Absolutely. Yesterday, for example, I watched the Bulgarian programme ‘The Great Streets of the World’. I expected them to mention Calia Victoria Street in Bucharest – after all, they’re our northern neighbours. But they were talking about streets in China and America. In such informative and travel programmes, Romania is often completely absent, unless there’s a major earthquake.

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