Columnist Eleonore af Schaumburg-Lippe writes in her weekly column about life as an expat in Romania. This week she talks about how many Romanians define “tomorrow”, and the constant change of deadlines.

When it comes to getting an electrician or another kind of worker, or even getting Romanians to hand in a document you have asked for in a project, you will often hear the words: “Tomorrow, I promise it will be ready!” or “You will get the document tomorrow!”

In the beginning you will think: Perfect, tomorrow is OK. But the next day you don’t hear anything from the person. Politely you give it a little time, but the day will pass, hours will go and still no news. What to do? Okay, send or call with a reminder.

The reminder will usually be answered with a long story; a good, creative story, that will involve a lot of troubles or other circumstances which explain why the things have not been done yet. Nothing is better than a good story, but not when you have a deadline ticking or are in need of something getting fixed at your place.

So what does tomorrow, actually mean, in Romania? Since it surely does not mean tomorrow, when a Romanian says it. I have tried to figure it out, but it's not an easy task.

It is like time has a different flow here in Romania. I know that compared to my home country Denmark, there is an hour’s difference, but still… You can see it when you are going to a business meeting. If you are there on time, you will usually be the one to wait for the other, so write down phone numbers, so you can call and have an idea how long you can expect to wait, because it will differ.

If you go to an event on time, you will usually be the first one to arrive, and the organizers will look a little at you as though to say: “Why are you here so early? We are not finished with the set up or the dinner.”

I know from other expats that the first meeting with the Romanian 'tomorrow' can affect a lot, a slight frustration will build up in you. In Denmark, a word is a word, so when you say tomorrow you actually mean tomorrow, or if you say a meeting time, that is the meeting time. So we get a little confused about the Romanian 'tomorrow'.

In Denmark, if you set a deadline for a project, people will contact you before the deadline if they have any questions about the handling in of the project. In Romania it can be a little different, since people will contact you on the day of the deadline and ask you about the project, even come with a complete idea how to change the project, or even write to you two days after the deadline day: “We didn’t make the deadline, what now?” If you are working with other partners in the project or with another European country that is not used to the Romanian 'tomorrow', you can have a bit of a dilemma.

My answer to this situation has been using a buffer, putting extra time in a deadline, or put an earlier deadline on the project, than it actually is, since it is sort of expected here.

When it comes to construction work on your home, electricians etc., well, hope for the best and expect the second best when it comes to the time frame, and don’t book any holidays on the day of the expected finalization of the construction work.

You can try and be nice to them and explain how important it is that they finish on time. That usually does not work. Instead you will sadly have to raise your voice a bit, and tell them enough is enough, tomorrow means tomorrow. That will mean it is likely it will be finished, of course not tomorrow but the day after tomorrow, but that is better than weeks later.

I remember, when I just arrived here, I invited some people for a birthday dinner at 18.00, because that would the normal dinnertime in Denmark. Some people arrived at 18.15, but many arrived much later, and all asked me why I invited them so early. I looked a little surprised, because when it was 18.15, I thought only a few would show up in total, not knowing that people sort of show up when they have time, not at the time you invited them.

So enjoy the Romanian 'tomorrow', and better learn to deal with it, because it seems it is here to stay.

By Eleonore af Schaumburg-Lippe, columnist

Eleonore is Danish, she holds a BA in Organization and Management and specializes in Corporate Communication & Strategic Development. She is also a Market Economist and a Multimedia Designer. She is currently working in Bucharest as the Executive Director of UAPR the Romanian Advertising Association. As a Danish Viking in Romania, with a great passion for ’covrigi’, she has a burning desire to find out more about Romania especially Bucharest, and enlighten the small differences in the culture between Denmark and Romania.. Her weekly columns will give you insights into an expats life in Bucharest written with humor and a big Danish smile.

(photo source: Photoxpress.com)