u/AnonymousCoDZ

A trait I found very much reoccuring in Romanian music and language is your poetic skills, the use of metaphores, not merely by professional artists but also by everyday people.

When I listen to Dutch music, it's often about something basic as romantic love, when I listen to Romanian music (using translator apps), it's about topics like the feeling of August, growing into maturity, the deminishing of human dignity and creativity....stuff like that. And then told in an indirect way and full with metaphores. Sometimes even silly like this song 'Pseudofabula' which I believe describes the feeling of angst in society. The favourite music-poem that I found so far is 'Scrisoare catre Fat-Frumos' by Vama, but feel free to recommend me your favourite ones.

It's also in the language you speak. Every language has expressions and metaphores but I feel like Romanians use them more and they touch feelings that lack official names and words.

Poetry is a language that can describe things that we wouldn't be able to describe otherwise, or in a way that people really feel, not in a rational/analytical way normal language does. Why are the Romanians so good at it? Is it more incorporated in your culture than it is in, for instance, the Netherlands culture where I'm from (and arguably, the Anglophone world)? Is your language more emotional? What's this thing that Romanians have with poetic language?

The agricultural landscapes of southern (and eastern) Romania are rather different than those in Transylvania and the Karpathes, and for good reason. The latter has different soils and a more hilly landscape, more trees, smaller scale and more diverse agricultural lands, cultivated and owned by local people. Southern Romania has those vast, open agricultural fields often owned by agri business, Romanian or foreign owned, cultivating grain, sunflower or corn for bulk export. My question regards these lands.

Why are there so few treelines in these fields? I get it that for mechanisation it is easier without trees, but the pros outwright the cons. Currently, southern Romania is exposed to higher temperatures and less rainfall, even risking desertification in some regions. Lines of trees combat soil erosion by wind and also retain more water in the ground, by having deep roots and improving the micro climate. On top of that, trees could provide nuts, fruit or wood for own use or to sell. And the negative effects of trees on mechanisation are small: Positive effects of trees on water and soil already occur with tree lines every 50 meters, with enough space for machines to work on the land.

I wonder why there are so few trees on these lands. Was this always the case or a more recent phenomenon. Does it have something to do with superstition from the past, or just carelessnes of the agrocompanies? Or maybe with the obsedantul deceniu I learned about in Morometi? Are there valid reasons why there are no trees, perhaps? And for people living in these areas: Do you see more trees being planted now that the region gets more dry?

Hi all! I'm interested in learning more about the Romanian history and culture and look for a good book that reflects on how its history shaped the people, the culture, the mindsets and the modern-day state. Preferably not only factual (about dates, events and a linear history), but also how the past influenced the present.

However, I struggle to find books translated or written in English. Could you recommend me anything?