I couldn’t not notice how different East Europeans are compared to the west/north part of Europe inhabitants :)
I’ve lived in Denmark for 3 years and I know other Romanians, Bulgarians, Polish, Russian people who have lived here for about the same time or even more. Most of the people at work are Danish or one of the above nations so although out of the East-European bubble, I am still in contact with a lot of people from there.
I think I’ve changed a lot since I first have arrived in Denmark. My whole mentality is changed more towards the relaxed Danish way and away from the desperate Romanian way.
I think desperation is what characterizes most East-European people. It’s probably because of the many years spent under communism which meant denial of access to the food you wanted, information, travel and so on. All this denial made the Romanians chase their food, information etc with much more desperation. Almost like animals. I said it before that when I go to Romania, I feel like I am in a jungle. People behave like animals, you can see it in the supermarkets, on the street, in any shop, cafe, restaurant.
I can definitely understand the way people are in Romania, it is very difficult to change when you live in the jungle with no contact to civilization. And with all that I can notice that the younger generation is moving towards the new modern mentality and expectations from life.
Sadly though I can also see that the people living abroad, despite all the civilization and change of environment, remain the same sad people they have been 3 or more years ago when they were living in Romania or other East European country.
Here is a list I am working on with the differences between East-Europeans and West-Europeans:
- An EE person will chase the cheapest available supermarket in the whole city and go there to buy food. An WE will just buy it at the closest available supermarket.
My opinion on the above: the time you spend on the way to the cheapest supermarket is also expensive. You could just spend that time doing something that will bring you more money or just spend it in a better way. And if that stuff is that cheap, doesn’t usually mean that is also less healthy?
- When an EE needs to buy a present for someone, the only thing that matters is how cheap it is and not if the person will like it or not. What I noticed on WE and Danes usually is that if they are really close to the person they are buying the present for, they will really put a lot of thinking into it and a large amount is also spent. If it’s someone at work, they are usually as cheap as the EE, even cheaper.
My opinion on the above: I have always thought that it’s better to not buy someone anything than come with a cheap and crappy present that he/she will want to throw away immediately after you leave. I don’t believe in “the gesture is what counts”. Well if you really want to count, buy the person something he/she will appreciate and this will mean spending some money. Else, just say “Happy birthday” and that’s it.
- An EE is desperate to not miss any opportunity. WE concentrate on what it matters to them.
My opinion on the above: agree again with WE. If you are so desperate and want to achieve everything (be good in languages, sports, etc etc) you will just end up being average in all (and that’s optimistic). Just concentrate on what you’re really good at. Specialization is key.
Glam glam!
