Do things really change if you don't notice right away?
I have times when I tell people about all the changes for the better that occurred in Bucharest over the last years, and times when I complain about all the things that have not changed. This, apparently, gives mixed messages. Well, they will say, what is it? Well things change, but sometimes it seems so very slow. Let me elaborate on that.
I live in Bucharest, the capital and largest city of Romania. Most of my life was a time of change as the country trudged through the slow, painful and corrupt transition from communism to something vaguely resembling a market economy. Off course, as things constantly change, any time is a time of change, but some more than others. Anyway, you know what I mean.
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Thinking about it, my perception of the change was … odd. There were moments when, day to day, I didn’t see much, but looking back, off course, a great deal happened. Gradual change is harder to notice.
The first bit of change was a shock, in 89-90, quick, chaotic but, in a strange way, superficial. A communist was shot and another communist took his place. They played revolution a bit and there was an opening of the country to trade and travel. Not that many could afford much. But some of the well-connected made quick money bringing trucks of cheap goods from Turkey. Some of the less well connected as well, but not as easily.
But after the privations of communism, worse in Romania then in some other communist countries, things did change. Cheap knockoff goods were still better than no goods at all. Free speech improved and people no longer feared the secret police. You could, should you afford it, leave the country.
How did I perceive this change? Well mostly Cartoon Network. Otherwise I was a kid. I went to school during most of the year or to the country during holidays. Had some more stuff I guess, but I did not really know the difference, as I was too young during communism. For me it was just how things were, change was not evident.
I remember in 1996 when I first left the country on a school trip to Italy, I was astounded of what I saw on the way and there. The first time in a supermercato blew my mind. Because nothing like that appeared in Romania by that time. All that stuff. Going to Spain in 2003, the difference was still amazing to me. Not that much had changed after all, at least in my mind.
Change accelerated after 2007 EU membership, as more foreign companies brought more or less decent jobs to the country and as a new generation of young people started to go beyond the shadow of communism, start businesses, create art and culture. Also, through the already famous Bucharest Internet the rest of the world came in, good and bad. But it was the money and economic growth that mattered. You must be able to afford change, you see.
Day to day life changed. New buildings popped up, the cars filled the streets. When I was young there were a couple of cars parked here and there, now you hardly find a spot.
Restaurants, bars, specialty shops, music venues, independent theaters, art galleries and all the things of a slightly more prosperous society are cropping up. You can now find products that were not even on the radar 10 years ago.
Visitors who came here after 10 20 years of absence are astounded by the change. They tell about it breathlessly, to the bemusement of people like me, who think well yeah something changed but you seem a bit overreacting. It is easier missing it when it happens gradually, a bit every day. Each minor, but adding up to a lot.
When I go to Western Europe on holiday now, there is still obviously difference, but not as much as 96 or 2003. So the change did happen. But for me living here, the rate of change seems slow. Because I always find something I wish was better. Life is short, after all, and there is still a while to go. After 25 years go by rather fast. Off course when you start from the bottom, climbing seems slow…
Bucharest is not Romania. It is, like many a capital cities and business centers, detached from the poorer areas of the country. Decoupled, if you will. So a good way for someone living in Bucharest to really see the change is to take a trip to a smaller, non-tourist city. And see a slice of how it was. To put things in perspective.
A point? Not really, just random thoughts.
Good one