Bucharest Finds Connections

Have you wondered what’s the connection between old radium watches, viral photos that turn out bad and dentists? Neither did I. But somehow, all these managed to come together, around the same table, on a Thursday night.

Bucharest Talks #3 brought together 15 strangers living in the same city. From ex-flight attendants to indie filmmakers, advertising strategists and management consultants, each participant shared their life story around the same subject: connections. 

Take smartphones. You can only appreciate how they connect people when they’re stolen away from you. Somehow, you wake up in a police station, surrounded by thieves who already know all the policemen. They regularly steal small things, to be taken inside, because outside it’s snowing. That’s something you don’t see in TV series.

And about that. When I watched Chernobyl, no one told me that old watches were painted with radium dye, to make them glow in the dark. Well, apparently it’s a thing. And you’re not going to sleep for weeks if you’re sort of a hypochondriac.

And about that! Did you ever go to the dentist and started translating all the prices in the tooth extractions? When you go to a wedding, it’s necessary that you gift the couple the monetary equivalent of at least 50 teeth. Weddings don’t sound very pleasant when you put it like that.

Oh, and speaking about important rites of passage, imagine attending your grandma’s funeral, in a remote village, around Bucharest. Highly impressed by your abilities to check all the Romanian traditions, making knots on towels and throwing away coins at every crossroad, a stranger aged 70, kindly asks you to come to her funeral too. And organize it properly. Networking done right.

Quite a way to end a lively night.
Special Kudos to Miss Alé Espresso bar and Catleya wines for supporting our monthly gathering.

Words by Ioana Ichim & imagery by Alexa Sferle from team Bucharest.