Paying for things in Romania is largely the same as anywhere else, except for one small factor. Shops tend to be very relaxed on the issue of small change. For example: If your total came to 10 Lei and 3 bani (which is a around two English Pounds) – the cashier would just ask you for 10 lei and let you off with the 3 bani. Similarly, if the change you are owed is less than, say, 10 bani, the shop cashier will often not give you anything. If they have run out of small change altogether, they will offer you some kind of sweet, stick of chewing gum, or a box of matches as a payment! I’ve also noticed that many people leave the small change even when they are given it.
This practice feels normal to me now, but I remember how odd it seemed at first in comparison to how we pay for things in England – where you rarely get let off with a penny, and almost always want your 3p change.
There seems to be a lot less chewing gum stuck on the pavements here. You do see it occasionally, but nothing compared to the gum stricken streets of English cities. It’s great!
In England, most butcher’s shops are quite clinical in the way that they display their meat produce. Things are very neatly displayed, sometimes with fake herbs or even plastic vegetables as decoration, everything is always clearly labelled and kept separate from each other. From my experiences here, there seems to be a very no-nonsense attitude to how meat is displayed in shops. There aren’t any fancy labels or strange plastic decorations – what you see is what you get… just meat.
It’s actually quite a nice reflection of Romania as a country, in my opinion. A humble and hardworking country that is still relatively untainted by a lot of western ideas. Things are much simpler here, it is very refreshing to experience.
How Very Romanian! 