expatyael
ExPatYael
expatyael

Various groups have tried to outlaw circumcision in Europe with some success. It is HUGELY important to Jews and Muslims, and of course both groups interpret any laws against circumcision as anti-Semitic/ Islamophobic. Some people make the argument that male circumcision is just like female genital mutilation (FGM)

I save it up for the exact purpose of binging :)

Same here!

I can’t be sure, but I want to say Jersey City. That might just be because that’s where my dad was born tho. My other set of grandparents lived in Philly, but I don’t associate a glottal stop with Philly. It’s possible that that’s because they themselves weren’t from Philly, they just settled there after my

My grandmother spoke that way - she would pronounce “kettle” as “keh ull. But, she was from NJ and born in the 1920s or 30s so....  

Same. I’m only going back to marry my partner so I can get him out as well.

My background is in international relations and I have been telling people since last summer that if any of this was happening in another country, we’d all be collectively freaking out because something terrible was going to happen. But it’s all just been “It can’t happen here.”

He’s only been teaching for 2 years now, so he’s still very much a junior teacher, and he has no stability, and of course his health insurance is terrible. Also, he’s in DC, so his/our apartment costs more than half his income. Meanwhile, I’m in Germany as a grad student, and despite earning not that much money, I’ll

I was on a plane flying from Germany to NC about an hour after Clinton conceded the election. All the old, white, NC voters were so excited that Trump had won because finally Europe was going stop laughing at us, I kid you not. I drank heavily that morning.

I’m getting married next time I’m in the States so my partner can get residency in Germany (I’m here as a student). He’s a teacher and it’s just not worth it for him to stay in the States (also I have pre-existing conditions). 

Interesting. We were always told to avoid iron because our bodies actively store it, and we all have elevated levels of it. Bodies are weird. :)

No, I’ve never had a transfusion, but regardless, we store iron. It’s a side effect of the thalassemia. I’m pretty sure it holds true for everyone with thalassemia, not just the majors (and checking the link below confirms it). My iron levels are moderately but not worryingly high so far. Having a period helps, but

I should probably cut back on the tea, but I’ll die before that happens. I avoid iron-rich foods (of which spinach actually is not one, altho I enjoyed that excuse as a child). I try to take folic acid and generally eat healthy. I stay away from fatty foods because gallbladder problems can result from thalassemia

I am so sorry to hear about your grandmother. I’ve heard that thalassemia can less the risk of a heart attack because of lowering the blood pressure, but it does manifest in so many way that you might not even think about. I actually have the most minimal expression of my family; my dad and one of my sisters have it

There are some rumors of Native American ancestry at some point (part of the family came over before the US existed) but as far as anyone knows, totally British Isles (and they’ve looked - my grandmother was totally into family trees). Part of why I was so excited about this thread was 2 people with thalassemia were

Yeah, it’s not supposed to, but essentially my family had a spontaneous mutation into thalassemia. Also from Wikipedia: “Transmission is autosomal recessive; however, dominant mutations and compound heterozygotes have been reported.” That’s my family right there. We’re in at least one textbook.

I’m also thalassemia intermedia, but haven’t found that eating meat makes a difference in how I feel. I’m also completely white (as in, British Isles white) so it’s possible my family’s genetic mutation presents differently. Do keep an eye on your iron levels tho - my sister is on the verge of needing chelation

Fellow thalassemia person (sufferer sounds wrong, if not totally inaccurate). This. It’s not my fault my family is a bunch of freaks of nature and I would definitely not have to worry about any of the potential side effects/symptoms of thalassemia, like the fact that a pregnancy would definitely require blood