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Sports for All in Romania

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Sports for All in Romania CM-5 ROMANIA Cristina Merrill is a John O. Crane Memorial Fellow of the Institute studying post-Ceausescu and post- ICWA communist Romania. LETTERS “Sports For All in Romania: Mens Insana in Paix Insana” Since 1925 the Institute of By Cristina Merrill Current World Affairs (the Crane- OCTOBER 13, 2004 Rogers Foundation) has provided BUCHAREST, Romania–Five months into my stay here I have concluded that long-term fellowships to enable anyone who practices recreational sport in Romania is either mad or completely outstanding young professionals out of touch with the all-consuming life in this post-Communist country — or to live outside the United States both. Attempting something as simple and relaxing anywhere else as jogging and write about international could become an unconventional act punishable with a wide array of exotic conse- areas and issues. An exempt quences, ranging from verbal pestering by construction workers to ankle- operating foundation endowed by twisting on unpaved roads or dog-biting from strays — not to mention the late Charles R. Crane, the cold stares of disapproval that would make public stoning a preferred cas- Institute is also supported by tigation. A lifetime of Muesli and good physical condition could not prepare a contributions from like-minded Scandinavian friend for a run here recently. Less than 30 minutes of Bucharest’s individuals and foundations. polluted air made this man, so spry in forests outside Copenhagen, gasp uncon- trollably to a quick defeat. TRUSTEES Most ordinary days, especially in the capital city, have the curious effect of Bryn Barnard depleting every ounce of one’s energy. It’s queuing up for the bus, at the super- Joseph Battat market, the bank — to pay in cash for cell, phone or electricity invoices — or at Mary Lynne Bird various government offices to get all kinds of signatures, approvals and papers Steven Butler attesting rights to exist. It’s the frequent worry that hot water, gas or electricity Sharon F. Doorasamy won’t run on any given day. Service interruption is rarely announced in advance William F. Foote by the providers — unless the media give out the names of general areas due to Peter Geithner experience stoppage — though I’m grateful that my relatively new apartment Gary Hartshorn building has far fewer maintenance problems than many Communist-era resi- Kitty Hempstone dences. However, when I complained to the building administrator about no hot Katherine Roth Kono water for a whole week, she said the disruption in an entire complex happened Cheng Li because the two new fancy villas, being built nearby, had to be piped into the Peter Bird Martin water system. Dasa Obereigner Chandler Rosenberger I often worry that the computer will fall prey to another Romanian virus or Edmund Sutton the Internet connection won’t work again. I’ve recently gone for almost two months without online service. The new company that took over from the old HONORARY TRUSTEES one delayed sending a team to install a new modem. Having to discover David Elliot Bucharest’s many Internet cafes has been quite interesting, in fact. There are plenty David Hapgood of them, and they are affordable (about $1 an hour) but smoky and crowded, Pat M. Holt with screaming teenage boys playing loud computer games while conversing Edwin S. Munger across the room and adolescents chatting with help from online cameras. Webcam Richard H. Nolte technology hasn’t been perfected, so people’s faces get quite distorted. I find it Albert Ravenholt fascinating that people still get the inspiration to say presumably nice things to Phillips Talbot one another — even send romantic messages in this age of online dating — when each other’s mug shot moves across the screen like haunted creatures from the Blair Witch Trial. But it’s nice to see that in some respects Romania has joined the Institute of Current World Affairs global marketplace. The Crane-Rogers Foundation Four West Wheelock Street Maybe I’ve read too much Orwell (or remember my Ceausescu-era child- Hanover, New Hampshire 03755 U.S.A. hood here all too vividly), but I always get the feeling I’m being watched by Big Brother, especially in government-owned institutions, most of which have po- lice-uniformed security guards. Romanians and even for- Sweating is just not a very feminine thing to do in this eigners attempting to change Romanian currency into for- culture, where women are expected to look and smell eign money are asked for proof of where they got the cash fresh. Perfumes and body sprays are big sellers. One of — a legacy of Communist-era laws that forbade Roma- the most popular gifts men buy for loved ones is per- nians from even carrying foreign money. Bucharest resi- fume, which I appreciate as a nice gesture, even though dents are also expected to carry and show their city per- my latent feminism tells me there is something in it for mit (yes, one needs permission to live here), while men as well; many men buy perfumes they like. During foreigners are sometimes asked to display passports, a recent visit to see me for the first time in many years, which sometimes are copied for unknown reasons. Besides my first tennis coach, who now lives in Germany, the main train station (dirty, free of information signs and brought me an expensive bottle of perfume spray, whose surrounded by aggressive cab drivers asking for ridicu- essence is nice but too strong for my taste. I’ll do what lous fares), the post office is one of my least favorite places many Romanian women here do and add it to my per- (long waits, unpleasant workers, unclear signage). Inter- fume collection. Criticism of this obsession with appear- national mail receives great scrutiny, and at one branch I ances aside, it is a pleasure to stroll the capital’s streets had to go to in order to pick up a large envelope from in the wake of fine scents of Romanian women. France, I was questioned by a severe chief clerk: “How come, as a US citizen, you get letters from France?!” How Exercise in the open air is still uncommon, especially could I possibly answer that query with a straight face or in Bucharest. I once had a taxi driver stop me during a a polite smile? run to ask if I needed help. He thought I was “foreign,” since only foreigners run. On my routine circuit around It’s also the constant noise, made by an extroverted the large parliament building, the only route I find rela- people who have no problems approaching strangers to tively well-paved and lacking mad traffic, I have met share all kinds of opinions about life, poverty and espe- and befriended an older woman, a former teacher of Ro- cially ill health, and sell everything they can; it’s the street manian language, who walks her Pekinese dog on the dogs, ongoing construction and aggressive cars. Cars are same 2.5-mile course I use. Interestingly, she has started public enemy number one in this city. Drivers do not re- jogging since we met. spect traffic signs and speed through intersections and even onto sidewalks. Bucharest’s tiny streets hardly pro- She said she admired me for being “unconventional,” a vide room for people, never mind vehicles, but drivers similar category she found herself in a couple of years ago have developed a special skill of jumping bordered pave- when she first started to walk her pooch outdoors. Own- ment at high speed and parking in odd places or shaving ing a domestic pet has become acceptable only in the last past pedestrians, sometimes without honking, though few years. The practice started with good-hearted people thankfully the clanking old madams can be heard before adopting street dogs (some of whom have unfortunately they attempt narrow maneuvers. Perhaps I lost Romanian kept their old aggressive habits) and has evolved into a survival genes when my parents and I left our native coun- real race, among the well-heeled, to display expensive try two decades ago for a comparatively cushy life in the breeds. United States, but I wonder who except resilient Roma- nians, could cope with the chaos that is life here 15 years It will take a while for recreational sport to become into the transition to democracy. As Mircea Badea, the presenter of a nightly media wrap-up, likes to say at the close of his show, “We live in Ro- mania and it takes up all of our time.” Sports in the Underground It’s a wonder that anyone finds time to think about or engage in exer- cise under these conditions, but of course there are brave souls in Roma- nia. It’s becoming somewhat trendy among a small elite to go to the “sala,” or gymnasium, and fitness spaces are popping up in many places. Tae-boo, a type of kick-boxing, is becoming popular, but aerobics is still the pre- ferred exercise activity among women — though instructors say Romanian women do not like to perspire, out of fear their make-up will be ruined. 2 CM-5 as cool as owning a dog or cat. Until then it remains an underground pursuit in Romania. Performance sport is an entirely different matter, as I explained in my previ- ous newsletter. Public money is invested in helping top athletes train, though the fact that athletes spend most of the year preparing in special sports camps, called “cantonamente,” segregates them from contact with the public. They qualify as special people, and as a result sport is considered by many Romanians as something reserved for competitive athletes only.
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