Willem314

I just finished my Marketing plan for my Romanian DIY store. I’m quite satisfied with the results of the project so far and the results that we made in the store. Either way it is for sure that both the store and the country it is in still have a long way to go.

My project will probably be dominated by the differences with the western companies, the difficulties of finding good personnel, the corruption and how hard it is to make use of the enormous potential the country has.

I do consider myself open to other cultures and I learned a lot from the Romanian culture mostly about a lot of values that we lost in the west. Still I am as western as it gets; never will I forget the relief I felt upon crossing the Romanian border (after we collected some money to pass the customs without checking of course). A feeling of safety and security that I couldn’t find in Romania.

Either way I cannot wait to come back here, even if it was just for the challenge…

I’m back in my cramped bus trying to read a bit when we approach the border. In line for the Romanian Customs a guy jumps up starting to speak Romanian to the passengers. I don’t understand but people start giving him money, even so he doesn’t seem bothered by the fact that some people, including me, don’t give him anything. I think he has a bit more that 100 euros when he stops talking and walks out of the bus.

I lose sight of the moneyguy and look at the bus in front of us; all the passengers are out of the bus and on the sidewalk with their open bags in front of them and big douaniers shouting at them like they’re at war. I had spent two hours on that sidewalk in the cold coming into Romania, I kind of asumed having to go through the same this time.

At that point the moneyguy comes back in to the bus, we pass the bus in front of us, the barrier opens and we drive into Hungary. One thing is for sure; as a Romanian douanier low wage standards are not your problem.