**Not TA:K Oriented** But, Gypsies!?!

Gypsies.  Gypsies!

Almost everyone that I know who travels to Europe talks about the gypsies.  Well, first they talk about the sight-seeing and history of that famed Continent.  But, why does everyone I know talk about the gypsies as well?

Are there really that many?  What do they do other than bother tourists?  Do Europeans in general try to do anything about them?  What stance do Europeans generally take about them?  What is your stance?

This is meant to be a fun Topic.  I also, never met a gypsy before, so I'm kind of hoping to be better educated on them from Europeans who may have first-hand experience from them.  Enlighten me!

Yeah, there are a lot of gypsies. They have mostly a nomadic culture and they keep it even when permanently established in an area. Like everybody else, they earn money with honorable means (trade, music, work) and with not-so-honorable ones (begging, theft). In terms of music, they are of the most skilled and durable musicians in the world (some of them can keep playing an instrument for more than 24 hours straight!). They love festivals, especially when a relative of theirs is married, in which cases many gypsies travel miles to participate in a marriage fest that lasts for several days. And many of them are related with each other, meaning these fests are always huge!
Well, that's almost what I know about them...

Very nice.  Now, I want to be a gypsy!  Sounds like a blast. 

Thanks for educating me on them a bit.  I thought this would be more of a "fun" topic.

{to sage}
create hydepark for that entertaining topics, but not related with TA:K
{/to sage}

hmm its hard question, generally gypsies and jews hardly ever assimilate to country were they live, so they were always somewhat "other"
generally stereotype of gyspy (that what i know from family books etc)
-there are many thiefts in this group (its mainly historical truth, today's in Poland they have same % in prison as other people (BUT in Hungary there are 25 more % people in prisons, in Italy 7 more))
-they like singing dancing, and other type of this stuff (I agree sometime i can meet gyspy in bus with Accordion etc)
-they are less educational than other people (somewhat depends, but they have very "freestyle" culture)(somewhat like hippie but not exactly)

Anyway if my grandparents meet gyspy they are always aware/prepare, because when they were young, there were more band/"gangs" of gyspy and they could stole food etc in hard time (specially after WWII )
Also when i take holiday job in small vegetables shop, there were some problems with them (i mean during my 1,5 month work, i had many customers, and 3-5 gyspy , and almost always there were at least small problems)
In today's Poland we have problem with recognition between gyspy and turkey people xD

BTW
also for me its always weird to see "black/yellow" people, in my home city(Bialystok) i could see 1 black per 3-9 months, 1 yellow per whole life
big difference is in Capital city (that was weird* for me to see big groups** of Asians or Black people)
*never happen that for me before xD
**generally everyweek i see some black or yellow etc

{btw in Poland we have many very offensive jokes about mainly Jews, Gyspy, Germans, Russians, Blacks)

Okay, I can see now that in many countries gypsies are a bigger problem than others and even more of a problem to natives rather than tourists.

I guess if they were better educated, and didn't steal so much, than it wouldn't be such a frowned upon life-style.

Lmao can you say the jokes? I know a few. I rather keep it in portuguese though.

"Nao faz negrice"
"chines de pau pequeno"

there are more tho but ill stop here lol.

gypsies isnt in shakira's music? I might be confusing

Okay, I can see that the subject is deeper for some than others, Malin.  I was ignorant for bringing it up and mentioning it as a "fun" topic.  But, I also did with to be better educated on them.

Ignorance is bliss.  However, it can also be devastating.  Wasn't very devastating for me, hehe, but I can at least be a little more sensitive about this topic. 

It can be seen as a fun topic though. About the subject, it's probably more of a economical subject than a cultural subject.

All I knew about them was that they bother tourists. 

There really isn't any gypsies here in the U.S.A., but we have a much higher un-employment rate than in a long time.  So, we have bums and a lot of drug addicts here!

And how about those guys who live in trucks or something? Isn't that some kind of gypsie?

there is big stereotype of gyspie who live in "tabor"(pl) <=> "wagon"(en)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-J0525-0500-003,_Rheinland,_Sinti_und_Roma_mit_Wohnwagen_auf_Landstra%C3%9Fe.jpg

in Poland during 1960-1975, goverment prohibit using "wagon" so this is almost imposible to find any

but i hear that in Romania and Hungary they are still common


about jokes its hard to translate them