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The Romanian Cultural Institute in London has launched a mini-series made up of 7 short episodes portraying just as many of Romania’s most prominent cultural and historical personalities: Stephen the Great, Queen Marie, George Enescu, etc. Written and presented by Dr Tessa Dunlop, the series is broadcast weekly on the Institute’s website and Facebook page.
Of the three great regions of today’s Romania, two, Wallachia and Moldavia, were almost uninterruptedly under Ottoman rule from the late 14th century to mid-19th century. Politically, the relations with the Sublime Porte were tense, when not hostile, marked by wars, broken agreements, corruption, plotting, conspiracies and court intrigues. However, linguistically the Romanian language was remarkably welcoming of Turkish-origin words….
In 1937, a prominent Romanian academic, Constantin Rădulescu-Motru, published a study titled The Psychology of the Romanian People. Its main claims were that the Romanians are a gregarious people, not very autonomous or perseverant in their work. [...] A remake of the old study was needed to clarify our place and role within the value framework of the new geopolitical structures Romania is now part of (NATO, the EU).
It’s probably the most out-of-the-ordinary kind of museum: the Museum of Broken Relationships, for lovers of yesterday... Based in Zageb and Los Angeles, it’s soon coming to Bucharest. Visit it between 3 September and 17 October at the Rezidenţa BRD Scena9 (32 Ion Luca Caragiale Street), Tuesday to Friday 4pm-8pm, and at weekends from 1pm to 8pm. Guaranteed to alleviate even recent split-ups! ;) Appointments here.
Fresh from the oven: this month’s dose of Romanian-language practice includes a new batch of 10 mixed-level exercises which will put your mind to good work in the language brain gym. We hope you can fly through them! Steady, go! (Answer key at the end.)
A graduate of barely secondary school, Romanian history nowadays pays homage to her as the female symbol of anti-communist resistance, an extraordinary woman of extraordinary moral standing, whose resilience, dignity, determination and heroism made her a major 20th-century Romanian female role model.
On 20 July we celebrate the Romanian Aviation and Air Forces Day. Military aircraft and helicopters (F-16 Fighting Falcon, C-130 Hercules, Puma and so on) which belong to the Romanian Air Forces, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Romanian Intelligence Service will perform air acrobatics across the skies of northern Bucharest. So look up there for a breathtaking air show.
Saint Elijah (Sfântul Ilie), celebrated on 20 July, usually comes with thunder, lightning and rain. Provided this weekend he makes an exception, you might feel tempted to check out the fair organised in his honour at Muzeul Ţăranului Român (Şos. Kiseleff 3) between 17 and 19 July. There will be lots of hand-made artefacts (ceramics, fabrics, jewelery, etc.) and a good variety of traditional Romanian sweets and drinks (yes, ţuică!).
Out of the quarter of Phanar in old Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) came intricate decision-making chains tipping the fate of the Ottoman Empire, and just over a century of rule which left a distinctive imprint on the ethos, psyche and lifestyle of the Romanians.
The expat women living in Romania have put together yet another edition of “From Romania with Love”, a charity photobook which can be ordered here: expat.lenses@gmail.com. In the album, the photographic “eye of the foreigner” captures Romania in its landscapes, portraits, architecture, to give us the overarching image of a beautiful country well loved by travellers. The book costs 60 RON and profits go to five NGOs.
This new batch of 10 more challenging, advanced-level exercises covers words, phrases, common mistakes and grammar. There is an answer key provided at the end. Enjoy!
The International Theatre Festival in Sibiu goes online this year. The decision makes it possible for audiences based in Romania to watch grand theatrical performances such as Robert Wilson’s Messiah, featuring a “huge” choir. Overall, 138 theatre, opera, dance, music and circus events with performers from 30 countries will be streamed on the festival’s website and its YouTube and Facebook pages between 12 and 21 June.
DELTA (Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) is the highest qualification available in the field of English language teaching. There are only 85 centres accredited by Cambridge Assessment English to run DELTA courses in the world, and IH Bucharest has just become part of that elite! Offering for the first time in Romania all of the course’s three modules. This is an astounding opportunity for local and foreign teachers of English living in Romania. Find out why.
Those of you who ever drove along the A2 motorway to the Romanian Black Sea coast will certainly remember how, as you near Cernavodă, the fine, slender shape of a steel bridge is coming to view, slightly reminiscent of the Eiffel Tower’s metal lacework – a sight not unlikely to make you hold your breath...
International House Bucharest via StudyRomanian has posted the third free Romanian class we have prepared for learners of Romanian (beginners). Watch it to learn how the verb “a face” (“to do”/”to make”) can be used to express routine activities. And subscribe to our channel to be the first to access future classes. Enjoy!
As online concerts are taking off more and more during this home confinement period, a live jazz session will be streamed on Facebook this Friday, 1 May, from 9.30pm Romanian time (EET/UTC+3). The evening’s special guest is musician Jack Randle, whose voice quality makes of him our modern-day Frank Sinatra.
This is the answer key for the 10 Romanian grammar & vocabulary exercises posted on our blog on 15 April. 1 B; 2 (sample answer) fructuoasă; 3 A; 4 (sample answer) excelent; 5 C; 6 (sample answer) şine/ţine/mine (two syllables, ending in -ne); 7 B; 8 C; 9 D; 10 ieftin. We hope you did well, stay tuned for the next 10 exercises on 15 May!
Ioana Radu was born Eugenia (Jana) Braia into a family of sub-modest means that moved from Bucharest to Craiova, in the historical region of Oltenia (a land of notoriously strong-willed people), when she was an infant. Her father was the owner of a tavern called “La ieftenirea traiului” / “At life’s cheapening’s” (they had a peculiar sense of humour back in those days), and her mother – a seamstress.
International House Bucharest via StudyRomanian keeps on publishing short videos designed as mini lessons of Romanian. They’re freely available on our YouTube channel – just subscribe to follow them easily. Lesson 2 focuses on the verb “to have”, plus a few useful phrases to mention your age, and give basic information about your family. Enjoy!
Rost: a Romanian noun which is essentially untranslatable. Although as part of some phrases it can be easily (and correctly) rendered as “point” or “sense” in English, there’s still an almost philosophical depth about it that eludes exhaustive translation. When, for example, you say in Romanian that someone has his or her own rost, it can mean they are established and/or autonomous, they have their own....
International House Bucharest via StudyRomanian has launched a series of short videos designed as mini lessons of Romanian. They’re freely available on our YouTube channel and you can follow them easily by subscribing to the channel. Each mini lesson focuses on a specific language point and includes common words and structures in context, with English translations. Lesson 1 focuses on the verb “to be”. Enjoy!
So we, at StudyRomanian, would like to assist you in choosing language-learning activities that you can carry out using some of our resources, so that your home isolation time passes agreeably and beneficially. Here are our top 4 suggestions:
Romanians don’t know much about her. Unlike her mother-in-law, Queen Marie, she wasn’t considered a beauty, she didn’t have a sparkling, magnetic personality that conquered hearts and souls in a flash. [...] And yet without her, Romania’s King, her son, in times of turmoil and bitter suffering, would have probably failed to serve his country with the wisdom, balance and caution needed in those merciless pre- and post-war years.
The “George Enescu” Festival gives you free acees to some of their most memorable concerts: between 18 and 22 March you can watch (online, free) the Giuseppe Verdi’s impressive “Requiem”, performed by Maggio Musicale Fiorentino orchestra and choir, conducted by Fabio Luisi. A musical feast to enjoy safely home in times of pandemic.
In times of pandemia, visit Romania’s National History Museum from your desktop, phone, tablet or laptop. On display, a small but beautiful collection of stylish old pocket watches, and if you take one of the 3D virtual tours available you can feel a bit of the Great War thrill, experience the solemn atmosphere of the national unification project, or marvel at memorabilia from legendary Stephen the Great’s reign.
One of Little Paris’s stateliest historic buildings, Casa Filipescu Cesianu (151 Calea Victoriei), currently part of the Bucharest Municipality Museum, celebrates the International Women’s Day through a classical guitar recital titled “Vibes and Embodiments”. You are kindly invited to attend it on Sunday 8 March, from 12 to 1pm. Guitarist Laurenţiu Topală will dedicate to the ladies pieces by Luis de Narváez, Giuseppe Antonio Brescianello, Antonio Lauro, Francisco Tarrega, Jorge Cardoso and others. Free entry.
There’s “drag” in English and “drag” in Romanian. The four-letter noun/adjective looks the same in both languages (although the vowel is pronounced differently), but the meanings are wide apart: Romanian “drag” has nothing to do with agricultural tools or cross-dressing; instead, it draws on its Old Slavic root драгу to mean “someone dear”, a “beloved or well-liked person”. Hence . . . .
Bucharest’s National Museum of Contemporary Art (MNAC), located in the striking Palace of the Parliament, exhibits between 27 February and 29 March 2020 works by world-famous German artist Christoph Niemann. On display, impressive visual essays, covers and prints made for top publications (The New Yorker, Abstract City, Wire, etc.) “With virtual reality glasses, apps for children and adults”, the exhibition provides the public with a spectacular “360-degree family experience.”
Perched on a limestone hill into the fanciful small ridges of which it seems to coalesce, it rises with elegance above an exhilaratingly beautiful landscape where the canals connecting the Razim and Babadag lakes make up such a picturesque background. Shaped as a trapezium, featuring polygonal towers and five-to-ten-metre-high defensive walls, Enisala was built during the age of the Byzantine Empire, most probably in the 13th century.
The French Institute’s Cinema Elvire Popesco (Bvd. Dacia 77, Bucharest) is home from 19 to 23 February 2020 to the Nordic Film Festival. After last year’s successful edition, this time round the festival shows 18 films from Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Iceland. Finding your perfect match who turns out a shock, choosing career over family, following your gift of clairvoyance, making a road trip with your transsexual father – these are some of the beautifully thought-provoking stories in the Festival’s multi-awarded films.
The Bucharest Municipality Museum takes pleasure in hosting a special performance on Friday, 31 January, from 6.30pm, in its historic premises of Palatul Şuţu (Bvd. Ion C. Brătianu 2). Titled, “Passion and Love”, the show is a music-poetry “duel” performed by Albanian-born soprano Arlinda Morava, actor Marius Bodochi, the Bucharest Ladies Quintet and violist Iulian Bolog. Tickets cost 20 RON and can be purchased on the day.
This body part is related to our sense of smell, the most sensitive and powerful in evoking memories: it’s nas (“nose”), a Latin-origin word in Romanian whose ancestor was nasus. It is the key word in a great deal of phrases and idiomatic expressions where the overall meaning has to do, somewhat surprisingly, not with smell, but with... audacity and nerve! Or even haughtiness and arrogance.
This year the International Holocaust Remembrance Day commemorates 75 years since the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp. To mark the day, the Horia Bernea Studio cinema at the Romanian Peasant Museum (Şoseaua Pavel D. Kiseleff 3) will host, between 24 and 26 January, a series of film, animation and documentary screenings titled “Memory of the Holocaust”. See the full programme here.
Courtesy of the Centre de la Gravure et de l’Image Imprimée in La Louvière, Belgium, fascinasting works by 22 major Surrealist artists and writers of the 20th century (Pierre Alechinsky, Juan Miró, Max Ernst, Achille Chavée, Jorge Camacho, etc.) will be on display at the National Museum of Art of Romania (no. 49 Calea Victoriei). The exhibition is on until 2 February 2020, open Wednesday to Sunday from 10am to 6pm.
Feminist representatives tend to be boldly outspoken. This one wasn’t. Virginia Andreescu Haret (1894-1962) made her feminist statement through the silent power of concrete: she engineered enduring urban beauty with each of the 150-odd buildings she projected in her 40-year career. Enthusiastic fans labeled her “the first woman architect in the world”, while others dubbed her “Romania’s first female architect”. She was neither the former, nor the latter. Apparently . . . .
You shall not stay home on your own this festive season. Bucharest is waiting for you to go and bask in its festive fun. Lively Christmas markets, heart-warming carol concerts, top-notch ballet performances and mesmerising fireworks are on in attractive central locations – you take your pick. Enjoy this festive season in Bucharest!
The reputed Bucharest-based Fundaţia Calea Victoriei opens the doors of its historic headquarters on Str. C.A. Rosetti 47, on Saturday 14 December from 11am to 7pm, to demanding shoppers in search of select Christmas gifts. ‘Tis a Christmas Fair where you can purchase both carefully crafted cards, cosmetics, preserves, bags or clothes, and cultural products such as courses (including in English). Free entry.
Saturday 14 December is the day when the musical expat women living in Bucharest congregate for a good cause: a Christmas carols concert which will benefit Hospice Casa Speranţei, an NGO offering full palliative care services to children and adults with incurable illnesses. They are marketing consultants, company owners, art historians or engineers from half a dozen different countries, yet their voices will unite into a musical whole which is set to impress your mind and soul. 7pm at the Italian Church (Bvd. Nicolae Bălcescu 28, Bucharest).
On Friday 13 December, between 6.30pm and 8pm, the Museum of Bucharest Capital City invites you to enjoy a Christmas concert at beautiful Palatul Şuţu (Bvd. Ion C. Brătianu 2). Albanian-born soprano Arlinda Morava and her guests (soprano Mihaela Stanciu, mezzo-soprano Adriana Alexandru, pianist Georgiana Diaconescu and clarinettist Gheorghe Constantinescu) will perform traditional carols but also popular canzonetti and operetta areas. Tickets cost 20 lei.
On Thursday 10 December, from 5 to 6pm, a classical guitar concert takes place in the impressive historic building of Palatul Şuţu (Bvd. Ion C. Brătianu 2), where the Museum of Bucharest Capital City is based. Titled, “Vibrations and Embodiments”, the event features Moldova-born guitarist Laurenţiu Topală and award-winning dancers Mirela Roşu and Giorgio Panico, of the “Urquiza” tango school. Free entry.
In Romanian, we don’t have question tags proper. But we do have what we could call, generically, “rhetorical questions”: questions which don’t actually ask about anything and don’t necessarily require an answer. We don’t use them to ask for information, details or facts. Which is not to say that we don’t expect a reaction to them. We do. But it has to do more with. . . .
This Sunday it's Romania’s National Day. Don’t miss the celebrations. There will be an impressive military parade showcasing troops of the Defence Ministry, the Internal Affairs Ministry and the Romanian Intelligence Service, 200 armoured vehicles and tanks, and 50 aircraft, plus military from 20 partner countries also parading at the event. It all starts at 11am on 1 December at the Arch of Triumph in Bucharest. Enjoy! La mulţi ani, România!
Friday 22 November at 6pm beauty and craft enthusiasts are invited to the opening of “Ancient Jewellery and Revealed Messages”, an exhibition held in the historic building of Casa Filipescu-Cesianu (Calea Victoriei 151). The 200-odd artefacts on display are from the Archaeology Collection of the Museum of Bucharest and they tell the story of beauty, status and self-image in human evolution since prehistoric times.
On Thursday 10 October 2019 International House Bucharest, officially called IHB Language Training Centre SRL, had its coming of age party. At Hotel Caro in Bucharest we welcomed our guests, the representatives of our corporate clients’ Human Resources Departments: Deutsche Bahn Cargo, Mondelēz, BRD, Engie, Holcim, JTI, KPMG, Merck, Philips, Adecco, etc.; other guests joined us representing our non-corporate clients and partners: the Competition Council, The Embassy of Slovakia or The Comic Opera for Children.
TED, that extraordinary generator of brilliant ideas, that amphitheatre for some of the world’s most inspiring speeches pertaining to a variety of areas (technology, design, environment, social engineering, psychology or teaching) is coming to Bucharest. 2 days, 22 speakers. At Bucharest Politehnica University’s New Aula, between 16 and 17 November. The event’s overarching theme: Metamorphosis. Check out the speakers and get tickets here.
Recommendations of tourist attractions usually call people to some sort of action: “explore the adventure park”, “visit the caves and waterfall”, “climb up the mountain”, “do some rafting”, “race an ATV on the dirt trail in the woods”... Well, at Cheia you don’t have to do any of that. (Unless you really want to.) To recharge your batteries, just go there and be splendidly idle. Sit. Look around at the symphonic display of colours....
“Free Fall”, the latest album of Romanian-born jazzmen Lucian Ban (piano) and Alex Simu (clarinet), produced last year by the renowned Sunnyside Records, delivers its music “with a touch of genius” right on your doorstep: at Institutul Francez in Bucharest (Bvd. Dacia 77), on Tuesday 12 November, from 7.30pm. If you want to experience top-quality sheer musical delight, this concert is not to be missed.
Can you get a proper gothic feeling in Romania’s capital city? By all means! Becoming acquainted with ominous local superstitions, dipping into dark urban legends and stories of suffering, sneaking around the mystery-laden tombs at the Bellu Cemetery – all of this can be done on a 3-hour guided tour available this November. For bookings and more information, click here.
In the mythology, fiction and arts of many cultures, it is a symbol of plentifulness, wellbeing, beauty and status, especially with women. [...] It’s a body part whose Romanian name, păr (hair), comes from Latin pilus and stands as the key word in a large number of phrases and idiomatic expressions.
From the intimacy of its plethora of quaint canals to the vastness of the Chilia branch, the waters of the Danube allure the mind and spirit to roam freely over their soothing surface. This is healing peacefulness and bliss. Elixir for the soul!
Scores of 19th-century personalities described her in superlative terms: she was dubbed “the uncrowned Queen of Albania” [3], included “among the most beautiful women of her time, with a voice like an awakening angel’s” [4] and a forehead “under which all the lights of a genius were shining” [5], considered “a true walking encyclopaedia” [6] and commended as “above all, a thinker” [7]. Find out who she was.
The George Enescu Festival is in full swing and it comes, besides top-quality music and musicians, with a series of guided tours around the venues which George Enescu and other illustrious artists of his time frequented. You can see the impressive historic buildings and learn their stories of glory by joining two types of tours organised between 6 and 22 September by the “Nouă ne pasă” Association. Find out more here or contact the organisers at hello@interestingtimes.ro.
They say, “capul se uită unde îl întoarce gâtul” (the head looks in the direction where the neck turns it), and that certainly suggests the subtle importance of this body part which may otherwise seem secondary: the neck. Interestingly, while in Romanian “cap” (“head”) is a Latin-origin word, “gât” (“neck”) comes from Slavic glŭtŭ, meaning “swallow”. In our series of posts on phrases based on body parts, gât is the first Slavic-origin body part we’ll be looking at.
Music and film fans are likely to be spoilt for choice at the fourth edition of DokStation Festival, to be held between 12 and 15 September. With over 21 screenings, concerts and theme parties, the festival features documentaries about disco music, Radiohead, David Bowie, Elvis and other stars, while live performances are given by Balkan Taksim, Karpov not Kasparov and Toulouse Lautrec. See the full programme here.
The award which iStudy granted us makes us feel privileged and at the same time committed: it shows us that good work receives good reward, and that every bit of passion, responsibility and dedication invested in what we do is sure to bear fruit for the people who mean the most to us – our students. We will keep being their good guides throughout the learning process they have engaged in.
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