Romania through common stereotypes: vampires, Roma people, communism. What else?

For many foreigners, Romania is the equivalent of a series of common misconceptions. Things that just pop into one's mind when hearing about the country. This week, we're looking at stereotypes and how they can affect communication. We're looking forward to receiving your thoughts on this: what was the first thing that came to mind before you had the chance to discover the real Romania and its people? By Irina Budrina Let's first clarify four of the most common stereotypes foreigners have about Romania. Some of them, such as the Roma information, may be hard to believe when thinking back at the recent campaign against the Romanian-born Roma in France, for example. That certainly didn't help with clarifying the misconception!

1. There are no vampires in Transylvania. Also, there’s nothing creepy about it and people living there don’t have that funny accent you’ve heard in Hollywood films. 2. Romanians don’t speak Russian, Romanian is a Romance language. People were forced to learn Russian during communism but this was not the case since 1990. 3. Roma people make up only 2.5% of Romania’s over 22 million people. A surprising number of people seem to think Romanians are the minority. Which is not to say that Roma are not Romanians. 4. Bucharest is Romania’s capital city, while Budapest is actually Hungary’s. This is something that many people get wrong.