Superstitious much?
Something we’ve all noticed here is that many Moldovan follow some superstitions that don’t have any scientific credibility, and I’ve touched on some in previous posts. Most notable of all the superstitions is the dreaded current!
The Current
What is the current? Well, it is when there is a window and a door or more than one window open and there is airflow in the room, bus, rutiera, whatever. According to some Moldovans, if there is airflow then you will get sick. Without looking up scientific research myself, one would think that the OPPOSITE is more likely to make you sick. You know, staying in a stuffy bus/room/rutiera and circulating the same air from person to person…
Wearing a hat
Many young children in Moldova wear hats. Why? Because their parents don’t want them to get sick. Yep. If a child has an exposed head, then they are more likely to get sick. Pretty sure there is no science backing this.
Astrology
I think that every Moldovan friend of mine who is younger than 21 posts their horoscope on facebook. Every day. It is also quite common to have people ask you what your sign is, or to ask your birthday so they can figure out your sign. Yeah…not sure if they do it for entertainment or because they actually believe in it. I think the latter. In the US, I don’t think I know a single person who believes in astrology and horoscopes. Anyone I know who reads that stuff does so to make fun of it. Maybe it is just because they are young that they follow it? I don’t remember if I had any friends freshman or sophomore year of college who followed it. I may have. We were 18/19/20 year old kids. So it is quite possible.
Its not that there aren’t Americans who believe in silly superstitions (lucky underwear and other charms), its just that I’ve encountered some new ones here! There are some people in the US who believe in some silly things too, but I haven’t encountered any cultural superstitions like this before while living in the US. Or it could just be that I haven’t noticed them, since it is the only culture I have lived in
Viața Mea: Cu Capul în Nori 