Everybody has a car. Or two. Or five. And that’s perfectly normal.

One of the most common questions I’ve been asked since I got here is about the difference in cultures between America and Romania. Believe me, there are lots of them. It is pretty hard to gather so many at once, so I decided to take my time and when I would notice something worth mentioning, add it to my list. I am 100% sure that I will remember the best of them after this gets published, but that’s not relevant.

Teenagers here spend a lot more time with their families and most of them have dinner together almost every night. I think, at most, I eat two meals a week with my actual family back at home. We don’t even go on trips together and we rarely just hangout. It’s just how it is and I can’t say it ever bothered me. It actually taught me to be a lot more independent and self-aware. Since I also managed to make some friends here with whom I like to spend some of my time, I realized I lost the ability to be by myself and not go crazy.  I bet it’s going to be pretty fun when I am by myself 5 days a week.

Dinner is another weird one. The biggest meal was lunch. That’s how I grew up. We don’t usually go out for dinner. I haven’t heard of a 4 PM dinner before. What’s that supposed to mean? I used to eat an apple and some king of granola bar at 8 PM if I still had schoolwork to do. That’s how my dinner used to go. There’s no surprise I put on weight here. No one cooks that much for me back in Romania (except probably my grandma, but that’s a globally known fact, all grandmas want their nephews to be… well fed).

Because of the 4 PM dinner, days here seem shorter. After dinner there isn’t a lot of motivation left in anybody to do something productive. Maybe watch a show, play a board game but that’s where you draw the line.

Life is calmer, in a pretty weird way. Most people are minding their own business and they don’t really care about you, who you are, and if you decide to come to school in pajamas and slippers. Everyone is free to be whoever they want. But also, everyone is free to be whoever they want. It can be dangerous to walk on the street by yourself at any time. Not all cities have a walking area. I mean that. You drive everywhere. Have you ever heard of drive through banks? Yes, they are a thing.  And I’m not only talking about the fact that it might be scary to be alone on the streets but just by being there, someone could kill you. I didn’t think about this one before I got here, but it just struck me that people have guns. You can’t just honk at the person in front of you if they are doing something stupid because you might risk your life.

I’ve been told so many times, by so many people, how horrible the food is here. I respectfully disagree. My overall weight disagrees too. Food is amazing. My host mom is an excellent cook. We go out to eat more than I usually would back home. I got to try so many different dishes. Also, everything is Texas-size: everything is bigger in Texas. I get at least half of anything I order packed up as leftovers.

People don’t procrastinate as much as they do in Romania, and this applies especially to the school system, either when it comes to students or teachers.

Everyone I’ve met is usually more kind and accepting of anything around them; they don’t judge just for the fun of it.

It’s harder to make friends whenever you’re used to everyone telling you they don’t need any more friends and it’s painfully obvious they are only looking after themselves, but if I managed to do it, believe me, everyone can.

“Now that you have lived in two different cultures, is it easier to see the downside of each one of them?” Yes. Definitely. You either get controlled or you are “free”. If you are free, you’re not always safe. Sometimes it feels like you’re trapped in a cage rather than enjoying your freedom. Sometimes you have the opportunity to choose for yourself and have something to say when it comes to your existence. Sometimes you have to deal with a post-communism mentality. Sometimes you don’t. There isn’t one better than the other. It’s a matter of choice. What is more important to you?